Written Question·Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs·UIN 120292

Water Companies: Nationalisation

Tabled: 12 March 2026

Answered: 20 March 2026

Question

Barry Gardiner

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to undertake a cost-benefit analysis of the (a) financial and (b) non-financial costs to the public between the privatised model and public ownership of th

Answer

Emma Hardy

The reality is it would take years to unpick the current ownership model, it would be extremely complex, and we would be in the courts for years. Billions of pounds of private investment going in to fixing broken pipes would be slashed in the meantime. Na...

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