A tanker pumps out excess sewage from the Lightlands Lane sewage pumping station in Cookham, Berskhire which flooded after recent heavy rainfall, January 10, 2024THE Water Commission’s interim review is a “sham” and “reads more like a sales pitch” to investors, campaigners warned today.
The commission, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, a former deputy governor of the Bank of England, said it had been tasked to focus on reforms to “improve the privatised regulated model.”
The report clarified it would “not make recommendations specific to any individual water companies.”
Instead, the commission urged the industry to “attract investors seeking low-risk, low-return investment,” which would require “restoring confidence in the stability and predictability of the regulatory system.”
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Founder and director of anti-privatisation group We Own It Cat Hobbs called the report a “sham,” adding: “There is a huge gaping hole in the whole exercise, namely examining who owns our water.
“The government blocked Sir John Cunliffe from looking into public ownership as a possible solution before he even began his review.
“If you’re one of the few people who still believe the private sector will solve the water crisis, you’re probably either a water company shareholder or a government minister!”
England and Wales are among the few countries with a privatised water system, unlike over 90 per cent of the world.
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See the original article at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/campaigners-condemn-sham-review-britains-privatised-water-sector