Member

The noble Lord, Lord Remnant, said that he was feeling less positive because I keep talking about Ofwat. I want him to get some of that positive feeling back. This is a part of the Bill where we are changing the rules for Ofwat to enable it to do a better job, so clearly we will talk about Ofwat quite a lot. Also in response to the noble Lord, Lord Deben, I say that it is important, at the same time, that the independent commission we have set up includes looking at the regulators. Although here we are talking about what we are doing with Ofwat, there is an opportunity, going forward with the independent commission, to look properly at the role of the regulators, to ask whether they are fit for purpose and to see where there have been problems. That is there for people to consider. I stress that the objectives of the commission include ensuring that water industry regulators are effective, have a clear purpose and are empowered to hold water companies to account.