A ‘watered down’ bill?

A reaction from our West of England Metro Mayor, Dan Norris (who is also Labour MP for North East Somerset & Hanham) to the news that water companies have been ‘ordered’ to repay more than £157 million to customers through lower bills.

Here’s the contents of a press release from his mayoral office:

Wessex Water – which serve homes in the West of England region – are among more than a dozen firms issued with the penalties. They were slapped with a £5.2 million fine after a review found they missed out on key targets.

Ofwat says the exact amount that will be returned to people via their bills will be finalised in December this year.

Wessex Water and other firms were called out in the report for failing to meet their performance commitment level for pollution incidents – up 15% versus 2023 – and stopping internal sewer flooding – up 19% in 12 months.

Mayor Dan Norris MP says he wants to see culture change and for the water sector to ‘clean up their act’, and plans to vote on sweeping new laws which could see failing bosses face up to two years in prison. He said: “Local people need and deserve water companies that perform well.

“This report shows yet again why we need to clean up the water industry – no ifs, no buts. That’s why I will be voting for the Special Measures Bill so we can stop the bonuses, protect customers and begin to really tackle the sewage crisis once and for all.”