B

Baroness Altmann (Non-Afl)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 23 July 2025

Debate

Independent Water Commission

Contribution

Having worked so closely with the Minister, I know how dedicated she is to getting this right. I congratulate her and the Government on their decision to act swiftly on Sir Jon Cunliffe’s excellent report. I relay congratulations from my friend, the noble Duke, the Duke of Wellington, who was a leading voice in this House on this issue. What safeguards will be in place to avoid the kind of hideous bureaucracy that we have seen bog down the industry and the monitoring of these water pollution incidents? Will the new regulator—a long called-for and excellent move—have the right remit from the start to avoid the kind of financial engineering that the noble Lord, Lord Cromwell, referred to? Will it have proper data so that the public can have confidence that they know what is going on, including tying pay for water companies to performance and perhaps having delayed compensation schemes so that, for example, we can get pension funds investing profitably in them for the long term rather than the short-term profitability that we have so often seen?

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