Committee publication · Correspondence · 11 February 2025
Correspondence from Ofwat regarding outage in Hastings, dated 7 February 2025
From: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Inquiry: Reforming the water sector
Summary
Ofwat Chief Executive David Black responds to EFRA Committee concerns about the regulator's handling of the May 2024 Hastings water supply outage. Black clarifies Ofwat's statutory powers and constraints regarding customer complaints, guaranteed standards scheme (GSS) compensation, and enforcement action. He confirms Southern Water has agreed to make GSS payments to affected customers and outlines Ofwat's ongoing monitoring following further December supply interruptions.
Key findings
- Individual customer complaints are primarily handled by the Consumer Council for Water; Ofwat uses complaint patterns to inform investigation decisions but does not require complaints to open enforcement investigations.
- Ofwat classified MP Sally Dollimore's initial November 2024 complaint as a parliamentary representative query rather than a customer complaint, hence did not pursue it as a GSS dispute; after 6 January 2025 meeting, she resubmitted as a customer and Ofwat is now progressing the case.
- Southern Water has agreed to make GSS payments to affected Hastings customers following Ofwat's pressure, alongside infrastructure improvement plans for the area.
- Ofwat opened a formal GSS case prior to Southern's announcement and requested information about Southern's initial position on GSS payments, with substantive response due 21 February 2025.
- Ofwat investigated the initial May incident and determined enforcement action was not appropriate at that time, but is now assessing December 2024 supply interruptions and considering enforcement powers under the Water Industry Act 1991.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
David Black, Ofwat, Alistair Carmichael MP, Sally Dollimore MP, Southern Water, Consumer Council for Water, Defra
Notable line
“While we have laid out the unacceptable legislative 'loopholes' that exist in the current GSS regulations with Defra and during my recent appearance in front of the Committee, as a regulator accountable to Parliament …”
Key Quotes
“… a pattern of complaints can be one of the factors in making that decision”
“Ofwat cannot undertake a GSS case without a request by either an affected customer or a company”
“… we investigated the incident in Hastings over the early May Bank Holiday and decided that in the circumstances, and in light of the action plan that the company had presented to us, and the Council, enforcement action was not appropriate at that time”
“… our powers to investigate companies for breach of their obligations, as set out in the Water Industry Act 1991, do not require that we have a complaint before we can act”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗