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BREAKING: The Government has just launched a public consultation on their landmark new sewage Bill that could put polluting sewage bosses behind bars and finally stop their companies spewing sewage into our rivers and seas. [1]

But there's a catch: they’ve timed it right over Christmas, when most people won’t notice…except water companies and their lobbyists, who’ll no doubt be all over it! Even worse, the Committee says they could even close the consultation early - before the already-tight end date of 16th January. So there’s no time to lose, Thomas - we must act now.

This fight is for people like you who care about clean waters, and who believe the polluters should pay to fix the mess. The sooner we all take part by sharing our views, the stronger our chances of getting the Government to listen to us - not water companies. This is our moment to drown out the lobbyists and stop them weakening the Water Bill!

So Anna, will you answer a few quick questions to help make sure this Bill ends the sewage scandal for good? We've made it simple for you to take part, and we'll share your views with the Public Bill Committee. Here’s the first question to get you started:

Do you think water companies should be privately owned and run for profit?

 

None of the Public Utilities, especially water, should ever have been privatised.  CEOs and boards of water companies should be personally held to account for what is being done to our rivers and coasts.

It has resulted in profit taking, lack of investment, both in infrastructure and staff levels and training, no doubt with a reduction in preventative maintenance, and poor spares availability.

The engineering training that the utilities provided to their apprentices benefited not just those utilities, but UK industry in general.  I also think that the publicly owned utilities purchased more of their hardware from UK sources, as opposed to the "buy cheap" policy.

I live just 100yds from people in the Eastleigh area that were without water last week and are now hit with one of the largest increases in their water bills.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgnq1yj07wo

If you are a company with big customers, you have to listen to the customer, conversely, if you are a big company (owned by share holders not in UK!) with lots of small customers, you can ignore them.

Happy Xmas !

 

 

Water companies being privatised was always an anathema. Fundamentally, they get their source free of charge as it falls from the sky. Not like energy companies that have to source fuel worldwide and are subject to fluctuations in prices of their raw material.

I was a big fan of Thatcher, but this was a grave error.

Thankfully, Northern Ireland water is still in public ownership (we don't 'pay' for water though it's rolled in with our rates) , but even we have many issues with pollution, leaks & wastage. In fact, it's one of the few areas where Unionist political parties and Sinn Fein agree on in keeping it in public ownership.

From what I've seen over the years in GB, the water companies have been fabulous for their staff & share holders, but customers have been simply shafted.