Question follow-through · 120292

Water Companies: Nationalisation

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to undertake a cost-benefit analysis of the (a) financial and (b) non-financial costs to the public between the privatised model and public ownership of th

answeredDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

About this written question

A written question asks a government minister for information in writing. Parliament publishes the question and any answer.

Answering body
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Tabled
12 Mar 2026
Target answer date
16 Mar 2026
Answer
20 Mar 2026 · 8 calendar days after tabling

Elapsed calendar days describe the record timeline, not whether Parliament considers an answer on time.

More questions by this MP on Environment and energy

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Recorded timeline

  1. 12 Mar 2026

    Question tabled

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to undertake a cost-benefit analysis of the (a) financial and (b) non-financial costs to the public between the privatised model and public ownership of th

  2. 16 Mar 2026

    Target answer date

    Date supplied by the official written-questions record.

  3. 20 Mar 2026

    Answer published

    The reality is it would take years to unpick the current ownership model, it would be extremely complex, and we would be in the courts for years. Billions of pounds of private investment going in to fixing broken pipes would be slashed in the meantime. Na...

Open official record

Official data retrieved 28 Sept 2026.

Later records

Possible follow-up questions

Strong links require the same MP, department and exact heading. Other same-department questions are shown as unreviewed candidates, not as confirmed follow-ups. No debate link is asserted unless a stable source relationship exists.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Sewage

13 Mar 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Office for Environmental Protection’s report entitled Investigation Report addressed to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in relation

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Water Companies: Inspections

23 Mar 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what criteria her department used in its decision to aim to conduct 10,000 water company asset inspections by April 2026.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Water Companies: Repairs and Maintenance

23 Mar 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has undertaken a cost-benefit analysis of requiring all water company incidents to be attended.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Water Companies: Standards

23 Mar 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has undertaken a cost-benefit analysis of ending operator self-monitoring in the water industry.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Environment Agency: Legal Profession

23 Mar 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many solicitors were employed by the Environment Agency in the Area facing legal services teams in 2008, 2014, 2020 and 2026.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Water Companies: Prosecutions

23 Mar 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for the 28 enforcement undertakings accepted by the Environment Agency from water companies between 26 July 2024 and 12 February 2026, what criteria was used in the decision not to pro

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Water Companies: Prosecutions

23 Mar 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for the 28 enforcement undertakings accepted by the Environment Agency from water companies between 26 July 2024 and 12 February 2026, if there was a recommendation to prosecute from t

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Environment Agency: Legal Profession

23 Mar 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many solicitor vacancies there were in the Environment Agency Area facing legal services teams in 2008, 2014, 2020 and 2026.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Water: Regulation

24 Mar 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the costs of the transition set out in the Water White Paper from four water regulators to one.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Water: Regulation

24 Mar 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish the list of Working Groups cited in A New Vision for Water (2026).

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Water: Regulation

24 Mar 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will provide the names of the members of the Working Groups cites in A New Vision for Water (2026).

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Water: Regulation

24 Mar 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to undertake a cost-benefit analysis of the (a) financial and (b) non-financial costs to the public between the privatised model and public ownership of th