Question follow-through · 1329
Water Companies: Nationalisation
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether existing legislation prevents the Government from nationalising a water company.
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
- 14 May 2026
- Target answer date
- 18 May 2026
- Answer
- 22 May 2026 · 8 calendar days after tabling
Elapsed calendar days describe the record timeline, not whether Parliament considers an answer on time.
Votes on this topic
- Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Bill Committee: New Clause 5 · 1 Jul 2026
- Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Bill Committee: New Clause 4 · 1 Jul 2026
- Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Bill Committee: New Clause 2 · 1 Jul 2026
These Commons divisions share a topic label. The question did not necessarily lead to a vote.
Recorded timeline
14 May 2026
Question tabled
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether existing legislation prevents the Government from nationalising a water company.
18 May 2026
Target answer date
Date supplied by the official written-questions record.
22 May 2026
Answer published
The Water Act 1989 and the Water (Target Investment Limit) Order 1990 limit Government shareholdings in water companies to around 3% (exact figure differs by company). Nationalisation would need new primary legislation to require changes to water company ...
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.
No later same-department questions indexed.
This is an absence in covered public data, not evidence that no follow-up occurred elsewhere.