Committee publication · Correspondence · 23 May 2025
Letter to Chris Weston, CEO, Thames Water seeking supplementary information in relation to the Committee’s Reforming the water sector inquiry
From: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Inquiry: Reforming the water sector
Summary
The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee requests supplementary information from Thames Water CEO Chris Weston following his 13 May evidence session on the water sector inquiry. The letter seeks clarification on financial resilience issues, including penalty costs from enhanced Environment Agency monitoring, conditions on a £3 billion emergency loan, bonus payments for executives, legal and advertising expenditure, asset replacement rates, water poverty measures, and data transparency practices.
Key findings
- Committee seeks Thames Water's analysis of future penalty costs arising from Environment Agency's significantly enhanced inspection and enforcement regime
- Questions raised about conditions governing drawdown of the second half of the £3 billion emergency loan and other loan offers on better terms
- Discrepancy between Secretary of State's statement that retention bonuses have been 'dropped' and Thames Water's claim they have been 'paused'—committee seeks clarification on recipients, amount, and whether any payments already made
- Committee concerned about bill payers' money spent on advertisements and legal cases against Ofwat, Environment Agency, and Drinking Water Inspectorate over past five years
- Committee requests details on water asset replacement rates during Asset Management Periods 7 and 8, water poverty measurement methods, and data transparency on water quality and security
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Chris Weston, Thames Water, Environment Agency, Sir Adrian Montague, Steve Buck, Matt Rodda MP, Helena Dollimore MP, Alistair Carmichael MP
Notable line
“… plans to pay out these retention bonuses have been dropped by Thames Water. However, a spokesperson for your company has said that the board has "paused" these payments.”
Key Quotes
“The Committee remains concerned about a culture of paying bonuses despite poor company performance.”
“The Committee is also concerned about bill payers' money being spent on advertisements and funding legal cases against Ofwat, the Environment Agency and the Drinking Water Inspectorate.”
“Water is a public good and yet there have been alleged examples of poor transparency from water companies.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗