Ofwat to be abolished, government confirms, as water industry urged to address ‘Great Stink moment’ – as it happened

England and Wales’s water industry requires ‘fundamental reform’ to address the problems that have dogged the sector, Independent Water Commission saysWater review in England and Wales: seven key takewaysNew ‘powerful’ water regulator to replace ‘failed’ Ofwat in drive to ‘reset’ sectorWater ombudsman to be created amid sweeping changes in England and WalesEmma Hardy, the Minister for Water and Flooding, has told BBC Breakfast said she will be “looking at the report all the way through the summer” in order to create a white paper outlining how many of the 88 recommendations in today’s report will be adopted.She explained:We are going to introduce a water bill next year that will change the law and put many of them into law. Exactly how many of the 88 we will put into law we will figure out over the summer.”It’s a really important recommendation, the secretary of state will be talking about this later today.”The increasing complexity of the challenges facing water companies – and of the challenges facing the regulator in regulating private monopoly utilities – require a broader, less monolithic and a less desk-based approach to economic regulation and to the oversight of companies’ performance against their licences.The Commission recognises that, until more recently, Ofwat was encouraged by the government to scale back its oversight of the sector, that it has paid closer attention to these issues in recent years Continue reading...