Andy Burnham is set to signal his intent to bring Thames Water under public ownership.
In his speech to the Labour Party conference on Tuesday, the Prime Minister is also expected to say that the Governement is exploring plans to give regions greater powers over how to bring public utilities in their areas under greater public control, according to multiple Whitehall sources.
This will include the tightening of regulation.
However, Burnham is expected to stop short of putting Thames Water into a Special Administration Regime (SAR) – a process that would allow Britain’s largest water company to continue operating under government supervision while its long-term future is decided.
Thames Water serves 16 million customers across London and parts of southern England, but has faced severe criticism for accumulating a debt pile approaching £20bn while allowing infrastructure to decay and discharging billions of litres of raw sewage into the River Thames.
The company has struggled to raise enough money to invest in maintaining and upgrading its network while also dealing with pressure from regulators, customers and the government.
These problems have raised wider questions about how the water industry should be funded and managed, with growing calls for greater public control and investment to ensure that essential infrastructure is properly maintained.
Asked whether it was time to step in with public ownership of Thames Water in a pre-conference interview, Burnham told reporters on Friday: “Like the railways, we have another example in water where privatisation has failed and people can see that very clearly in relation to water.
“So, as we go into the Labour Conference, we will set out more thinking about the change that we need to see in the running of water across the country. But it is clear to me that what we’ve had in the last 30 years is nowhere near good enough and is actually letting the public pay.”
Asked about MPs pushing for SAR, the Prime Minister said he is looking at “all of the options,” but he added: “It’s challenging because the effect of privatisation was that it locked in a very poor system.”
Burnham also refused to rule out looking at options for bringing South West Water into public ownership.
Asked what the firm would have to do for that to happen, he said: “I’m well aware of the strength of feeling in the region.
“I was in the region in the summer. It was a difficult summer for people in relation to water supply. There’s a lot of feeling about how we’ve gone wrong with water in this country, and I share it.
“What we need to do is start to lay out a programme for reform, and we will, and we can expect to hear an answer to that in conference.
“The country feels very strongly about it. I don’t think the model that we’ve got is the right one, but we just need to put out the proposals for reform.”
Thames Water’s creditors, a consortium called London & Valley Water, have previously offered to inject fresh equity into the company of £3.35bn and said any move towards public ownership would “increase uncertainty for employees, destabilise the supply chain, delay the turnaround and make it harder to deliver the improvements customers deserve.”
Hence then, the article about burnham set to signal plan for public ownership of thames water was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Burnham set to signal plan for public ownership of Thames Water )
Also on site :
- The Least Worried Man in AI Has a Plan to Rein in Rogue Agents
- "We clearly handled that responsibility poorly": Paradox ban Discord profile pics of historical figures born after 1800, after bust-up with Hearts of Iron 4 players over Atatürk banning
- Nearly 30 Years Ago, Mattel Recalled 500K ‘Cannibalistic’ Cabbage Patch Dolls—and They’re Major Collector’s Items Today