Injustice is the central grievance the public has with water companies over pollution

No right thinking person would have an issue with water company bosses and shareholders being remunerated if these firms performed and did their job.

Instead they have had to watch as firms pump sewage into the rivers and beaches on their doorstep, before demanding more from customers to fix issues with the infrastructure that they should have been on top of.

It is representative of decades of failure. Failure for which bosses and shareholders have been rewarded.

Previous governments have also failed to take action. Labour was elected on the promise that it would get a hold of the water industry and tackle the injustices. That is why regulation that allows the Environment Agency to recover additional costs associated with regulating the water industry is to be welcomed.

This includes the cost of existing and new enforcement activities which were previously funded by government Grant in Aid.

It is also good to see the chair of the Environment Agency, Alan Lovell talk about closing the “justice gap” because ultimately that is what this issue is all about.

The Government has refused to nationalise repeat offenders that fail to tackle water pollution but it cannot allow itself to be seen as a soft touch when it comes to taking on water companies.