Must Watch: Labour MP Grills Water Bosses Over Sewage Dumps At Committee Hearing

[@theipaper]

What is your view on whether water companies should be nationalised or privatised?

[@CaptainFearless1]

worth bringing it in house as that at least stops the drain on financing going to shareholders and keeps the focus on the customers...obviously need to get experienced mgt in place for it to be successful

[@jasonthompson7378]

It should be public as well as all other companies that the country needs.

[@stonehengemaca]

Nationalised.

[@scooby1992]

A basic provision that we all rely on should be provided by the state as a not for profit organisation . That should be the case for gas and electricity , but even if people dont accept that water should be a national asset .

[@patwhittingham9196]

Nationalised

[@bobjohnbowles]

So the regulator is earning his living by virtue of his ability to produce word salad.

[@petyrkowalski9887]

He is a slimy little turd.. fished out of the Thames

[@JediBuddhist]

Yes exactly. He was planning on word soup but realised the committee wouldnt be able to digest it.

[@peterkirby2771]

Lock these bastards up . OFWAT are in the pockets of the water companies

[@James-bc1jk]

Do something about it it's us the British that have let this happen

[@maxine2798]

Make them drink the water and swim in it. If they’re happy giving it to us, they can take it themselves

[@aidy6000]

​@@James-bc1jk Class system ensures this is not possible without extreme action

[@Andy-it9dm]

After making them swim in it... Saw kids n parents swimming in sea at weekend right where its been dumped...iv warned as many locals as i can n asked them to warn others

[@simplesplayground7871]

I was just thinking with how he was talking it sounded like he wasn't talking about them but for them. He's acti g like their lawyer

[@andrewfanning3280]

Who does OfWat actually work for? because it’s not the British people.

[@coppershark1973]

It works as a smoke screen for profiteers.

[@blue_jay31]

That is for sure !

[@ryanoneill4691]

Most CEOs from OfWat end up working for the water company but paid off until they get their very lucrative contract. It’s a complete joke and they’re getting away with y.

[@petyrkowalski9887]

Water bisses and shareholders but not us.

[@Padraigp]

Like most of them they push papers around. All the ombudsmen type things ...I went to the one for charities because they were doing dangerous things for the volunteers. I'm related to one of the volunteers so their approach was to tell the charity my name possibly endangering my relative. And they said well the charity has said they do everything right on a peice of paper they submitted to us. And I said don't you go and look and check it out? And they said no. We don't do anything like that. We just take their word for it. These people are paid good money to do absolutely nothing and the whole system is like that. The bare minimum they do and the rest is a complete charade a facade.

[@Lynnefromlyn]

All public utilities should be nationalised. It’s a no brainer!

[@chriswilliams8121]

Well Labour under a Corbyn government would have done just this but alas the public voted Tories and then labour booted out corbyn

[@blue_jay31]

For sure !

[@1inchPunchBowl]

@@chriswilliams8121 & Labour did state that nationalisation was something they are committed to during their conference.

[@dekmackie]

​@@By-Fun-Jokes-Guitars makes a big difference, doom mongers can't see it though 😅

[@TheCam920]

@@By-Fun-Jokes-Guitars Libertarians love living in their own filth it seems

[@dianewilliams8552]

Not a penny of taxpayers money should be paid to these criminals

[@AJBenny159]

I’m sick of these bastards getting away with it , forget the useless committee, where is a criminal trial? They should be prosecuted at least

[@shaun906]

thats labour plan, that and fine them till they have to sell it back to us for a quid!

[@MrDesmondPot]

@@shaun906no, it isn’t. It should be, but it isn’t.

[@Trylobyte]

​@@shaun906labore are thatcherites and all for privatisation of everything

[@gearoftones8585]

These committees are pointless. Nobody is ever held accountable, nobody ever gets in real trouble. It's just a way for the government to say they're taking action but nothing will come of it and the people being questioned know that. Just look at the post office scandal. Plenty of words and committees but zero accountability. Those in the wrong still have their money and still have their gold plated pensions.

[@bigtom6443]

@@MrDesmondPotyeah Labour is more interested at winning Tory votes….by effectively becoming Tories v2

[@ronnienose8608]

Nationalised. Same with electricity, gas and the railways. Our NHS needs to be 100% nationalised, not selling it off.

[@petyrkowalski9887]

I agree. 10000000%

[@NeilBrown-rz5ll]

@@petyrkowalski9887Scotland never privatised water and have now brought the railways back into public ownership…Corbyn was called out for trying to do the same thing in 2019,now England have woken up that privatisation is not as good as they thought it was…how can privatisation be a good thing when billions have been syphoned from these companies….its the Tories giving our family silver to the greedy twats in the city…

[@amrobinson6124]

Precisely. All the things we as humans need for a semi-comfortable life: energy, transport, healthcare, and water. These things should NEVER have been privatised.

[@italifacts1461]

_So we'd bring pharmacy into nationalisation? Would need greater centralisation, but yeah, that'll work._

[@kennylogue7947]

The U.K. needs Nationalisation. I would be quite happy the people having politburos and running our affairs. Get these Etonians out of politics and the fat cats.

[@HoratioChinn]

So Ofwat agree that Thames water is not meeting its obligations. That begs the question, what have Ofwat been doing over the last 20 years to to allow Thames to get away with this for so long. It's no use them smiling saying everything is great.

[@aliceunchained28]

They've been taking envelopes full of cash to allow the infractions to continue

[@clareshaughnessy2745]

Obv making profits for shareholders

[@haraldschuster3067]

Close their eyes with their hands outstreched. And they promise to keep 'em closed as long as they feel some coin in their hands.

[@timbanks7344]

Ask the regulator if he has personal investments in these water companies

[@ANonymous-p5x5n]

That would be a conflict of interest, and would be frowned upon. And have to be declared.

[@coppershark1973]

Riiiiiight. You aren’t keeping up with current affairs in corrupt UK inc.

[@ANonymous-p5x5n]

@@coppershark1973 I’m pretty sure they’d check

[@buzzukfiftythree]

You don’t need to have investments to be biased - you merely have to have a few friends who you want to keep sweet.

[@custossecretus5737]

⁠@@ANonymous-p5x5n Which doesn’t stop it from happening. Look at Manchester Cities Arab owner and how the council let him buy property and rise the rents to £1800 a month! I wonder which councillor is now sitting on the Manchester City football club board 🤔.

[@niknoks7638]

All I heard was “Bull 💩 Bull 💩 and more Bull 💩 and we need more money for my bonus!” 🤬

[@muckle8]

We all heard the same - Uk is finished , bastard corporations and greedy shareholders taking brits as mugs .

[@user-ca3sp7er1h]

Yeah the same stuff that's in the water !

[@blue_jay31]

Wow I heard the same thing ! 😢

[@muckle8]

Brits being ripped off daily on an industrial scale and it’s getting worse not better daily - no way back now .

[@rossleahy2150]

He doesn’t sound like the regulator - sounds like the water companies spokesman

[@SlinkShady]

Translation: we take your money and give it to shareholders and do nothing, but if you want us to do something you have to pay for that as well as give shareholders their money. This is called holding people to ransom. Nationalise water now. NEED SHOULD NEVER BE A PROFIT CENTER.

[@foureveralone]

Labour government can just fine them into oblivion until there pretty much bankrupt. Then the government can but it up at a 1 percent valuation.

[@craiggreen4388]

I'd call it extortion. A shorter word.

[@ChrisMacG060]

The privatised water companies have failed to invest enough in the 30 years since they were given contracts. However, these companies have not delivered on the contracts they have and those companies have secured loans on the asset and that looks as though it will be picked up eventually by the British public. Looks very, very suspicious and even corrupt, private companies have been shafting the British public for 30 years, the British people just need clean clear usable drinking water and not have sewagwe pumped into every water course in the country.

[@shaun906]

thames water want to add the cost to our bills in the north

[@Vamooso]

They bought it with debt then dumped that debt on the company, while paying themselves dividends with more debt. It's just wealth extraction at the taxpayers expense.

[@sheilamiller9605]

Totally agree, but no need for the word ‘enough’!! It should just read ‘failed to invest in the last 30 years’! It’s sickening that these private companies can just siphon off public money again!! Nationalise now and repay all our stolen money so it can be invested by a publicly owned, nationalised company to sort out this mess. The public can’t afford to pay twice.

[@MrGavinBoyd]

The problem with Thatcherism is that you eventually run out of assets to sell to overseas investors so that they can rip off British consumers.

[@TheDave1947]

We will never recover from Thatcher

[@shaun906]

i love paying my power bills to the french!

[@philiphall8325]

I think we’ve reached that point already. I can’t think of anything in Britain that is British owned but maybe someone can correct me. The next step is to charge you for something that is currently free e.g. road pricing.

[@rede5426]

The problem is weak politicians and weak regulation. We've had 34 years since Thatcher so bit lame blaming her still after 34 years. Like blaming who started WW2 in 1974!!! Pointless.

[@Alex-cw3rz]

​​@@rede5426 what she did was mind-bogglingly stu pid and economically illiterate. She changed our political system, she is to blame for this water situation and the political paradigm that meant it was never changed back. She sold it off at 33% of it's value and we payed off 6 billion in debt. How are you meant to reverse that. Without having to spend 10s of billions which will be a very unpopular move. I think your WW2 example is silly and disproved your own point, yes in 1974 and 2024 I'd still blame h itler and the German government for attacking Poland.

[@LincolnTank-StillOnTheSprue]

While national infrastructure companies are run privately for profit things will never change

[@LincolnTank-StillOnTheSprue]

And this guy is from New Zealand..............tell me how he could be possibly invested in the interests of the UK?

[@scooby1992]

@@LincolnTank-StillOnTheSprue True and look how many energy providers are foreign owned and some are even owned by foreign Governments .

[@AlanFagan-y5l]

​@@scooby1992And now it looks like the Post Office is being sold to a Czech billionaire.

[@czarkusa2018]

We got rid of Corbyn, the man who would change it. He happened to be right about Israel too.

[@scooby1992]

@@czarkusa2018 His problem is that although he had a massive following among like minded people , the vast majority of the electorate agree .Some might say ' they want change ' or to be radical , but when push comes to shove they like continuity and to stay in a familiar and safe space .

[@armandobanha3817]

Just disgusting! If you do the same on the other side of the channel, you just go directly to jail.

[@andrrwprice7281]

Now ask yourself who are the major shareholders in many of the UK's water companies!!

[@danielcampbell3686]

I read something recently in that they are having a lot of the same problems with the same water companies in many different European countries

[@mickrap6001]

@@andrrwprice7281A lot is owned by the french government which means it's publicly owned by the french people and a lot of other countries as well and it should be owned by the British public the trouble is the Tory's are lazy and greedy.

[@jimjam3877]

What would fair punishment look like for somebody caught putting shit in the communal water supply?

[@shaun906]

they must drink it!

[@scoates9910]

They should have told him to wipe the smirk off his face.

[@Grandpapiyorks]

To sit in front of a committee and smile simply infuriates, He knows whatever the outcome,the bill will be footed by us and not shareholders! Thatchers britain has failed and utilities and transport need taking back in house

[@lokischildren8714]

This water companies boss talks 💩💩💩💩 same as he poisoned the water systems

[@coppershark1973]

He’s the regulator. Amazing isn’t it!?

[@blue_jay31]

Yes he is, to site there with a straight face and throw those numbers out and he has no problem! 🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮

[@thetimeisnow6822]

IT IS CHEAPER TO PAY A FINE & DUMP HUMAN WASTE INTO THE RIVERS. THESE SHOULD NOT BE PRIVATE. BUSINESSES

[@bob23301]

These should be court room hearings, not useless committee hearings......disgraceful.

[@markiliff]

Well done, Clive

[@paulroberts5418]

scandalous unbelievable can not drink tap water now wow how much is not enough for these people

[@robertlamont9455]

Had the CE of Ofwat perused the facts over water in Scotland rather than recite nonsense from the Daily Mail, he may have come across as better informed...

[@bryanfish7303]

You know the system isn't working when the regulator is running defence for the water companies. For all the times he patronisingly said "just in terms of the facts", he was quick to skip over any reference to the poisons and excrement that riddles every aspect of our water supply

[@anthonyberry9132]

Did you honestly think you were drinking rainwater?

[@drake128]

Why would they invest ? They’re only there to leach , they’re not in it for any benefit other than their income .

[@andrewmason7207]

why bring scotland into it . we have the best water in the world straight from the tap. and publicly owned

[@dekmackie]

Our water is amazing, i was so lucky to be born here

[@rhu115]

Lying bstrd. You can drink from our rivers and streams in Scotland.

[@samuelloification2749]

​@@rhu115he wasn't lying, we know Scottish water don't care about leakage because they have so much water naturally. We also know they only monitor 4% of combined sewer overflows compared to 100% in the UK in Wales and we know from the 4% they monitor that they are also dumping sewage. He's obviously using that as a comparison because he was asked about the privatisation model and they are the example of a public model. Still think we should bring all the water companies back in to government control like Scotland do and believe it's a better model. But I don't see how pretending they are perfect benefits Scotland beyond point scoring

[@Bucketheadhead]

@@rhu115No you can’t. In the Highlands maybe, but certainly not in the central belt. The rivers are filthy and packed with litter.

[@tamhunter5025]

​@@Bucketheadheadwhat ones

[@blackcyclist]

Am I the only person who can't see a difference between £52bn & £92bn? Once you hit a billion, every subsequent billion is still blinding

[@seebarry4068]

0:39 NO! They will always cut corners to make profits

[@maggiemoo0328]

Note they have bottled water in front of them not a pitcher of tap water.

[@clarecrawford9677]

Have you tasted tap water in London? It’s awful.

[@maggiemoo0328]

@@clarecrawford9677 exactly! They’re trying to get out of their responsibilities in providing clean, safe water so, if they’re doing their job properly (which they’re not), let them drink the fruits of their labours!

[@clarecrawford9677]

@@maggiemoo0328 London tap water, even when it’s clean, tastes foul.

[@danielcampbell3686]

@@clarecrawford9677 It was horrible even 20 years ago when I lived there, even using one of those filter kettles, I dread to think how much worst its become

[@Nikki-yn7yv]

It’s disgusting what the tories have done to this country ,privatising everything and watching the infrastructures decline while the investors get rich

[@sueaustin1382]

Every inquiry currently running while electioneering goes on will add more nails to the Tory coffin.

[@garyt123]

So basically the customer is being duped out of £79billion, while _still overpaying_ (an additional £196billion) for infrastructure improvements, while the investment company racks up debt which the public WILL eventually have to cover. So the question "does privatisation work" is very, very, valid - and the answer is blatantly obvious - including all the _claimed_ inefficiencies of a publicly owned model - NO, privatisation does NOT work. We have never had such expensive water or such poor quality water.

[@OneEyedWheeler]

Arrest that man.

[@MariaDARCY-xl9ju]

I would pay extra for my water if it was nationalised again. It would be in safer hands for our children and the revenue would stay in the UK. Win win!

[@petyrkowalski9887]

These water bosses shpuld be held personally criminally liable for spills. Privatised water was always a terrible idea and needs to be re-nationalised. £52 billion ripped out in dividends that should have gone back into the infrastructure.

[@brycesweeney9237]

They should be charged with intentional food poisoning

[@deanhall5363]

Water should never be there for profit and no dividends should ever be paid out until all the work has been completed to make sure our water is safe and clean, the water board should never have been sold off in the first place as the same should be said about electricity and gas but we all know who to thank for that Mrs Thatcher.

[@HoratioChinn]

Thames water has gained billions of pounds worth of assets but has paid for them at the expense of the customers and on the never-never.

[@willscott1171]

Now there's a man who's never set foot in Scotland. I've lived in London Cambridge and Bedford could never drink the water. I had moved back to Scotland the water is crystal crear. Most of our lakes and streams can be safely swam in you'd only go into a lake or stream down south with a hasmat suit on

[@Im4588-m8t]

Well now you have said it, that won’t last long. Guaranteed with the immigration issue people will be soon pitching up tents , pissing and bathing in the clear waters.

[@samuelloification2749]

You're just talking about the difference between hard and soft water. The water in England has always been right at the top of the quality leader boards. I get this issue in Devon happened but the idea that water in England is undrinkable is nonsense

[@willscott1171]

@@samuelloification2749 lived in England for 16 years I wouldn't drink the water if you paid me, no one I worked with ever drank it either.

[@samuelloification2749]

@@willscott1171 you and everyone you worked with drank no tap water for 16 years? Okay mate. I've lived in England for 30 years and hardly know anyone who wouldn't drink the tap water, and the people who wouldn't wouldn't drink it in Scotland either. I'm not gonna pay you but you are just objectively wrong about this and do so out of ignorance which is fine.

[@willscott1171]

@@samuelloification2749Believe it if you like, it doesn't bother me. It is, however true.bottled water, tea, coffee and juice. On my first day in the hospital the clinical nurse manager told me to avoid the water

[@normanjones9663]

I remember being told at the time that Covid was hindering the delivery of necessary chemicals to process waste water, so that untreated sewage was being discharged into water ways. What strikes me is that to my knowledge the question about WHY the water companies are still continuing to do this isn't being asked.

[@nickd.6365]

I recall that Brexit was stated at the time that it was partly contributable to the delays in supply of the chemicals.

[@OneEyedWheeler]

The question has been asked and the answer was that we need to pump the sewage into our watercourses or face having it back up out of our toilets and sinks, because the sewers can’t handle the demand due to not having been invested in and upgraded.

[@samuelloification2749]

It's to do with blockages and demand, not chemicals. Blockages caused by people and businesses putting 'unflushables' down the toilet and pouring oil and fat down sinks. And demand is obviously a population growth thing where more should have been done to invest and tackle that. The pressure needs to be kept on either nationalise or force change

[@jackhadroom4540]

​@@samuelloification2749True, fatbergs are one of the main causes of blockages.

[@chrisstones1249]

Basically we the customers are being screwed ,has the government stands by and does sweet f.a. about it .

[@dekmackie]

You get what you vote for I suppose 😂

[@chrisstones1249]

​@@dekmackieabsolutely agree , but I didn't vote for the trash that's in government now ,and never will and that includes the parasites known as reform .

[@chrismcg69]

Why is water privatised? It's fucking WATER.

[@boogiewoogie9770]

Free market. Tory gold!

[@damiendye6623]

Margaret Thatcher that's why she wanted to destroy the country she did knowing she would not have to see what she had done. Evil to the core that woman

[@benhopwood5321]

Surprise surprise the corporations can break the law but the public is jailed if they did the same thing as the corporations! What a joke our country has become, I don't even recognise it anymore it's that disgraceful!

[@trident6547]

What is the benefit of the customers if all investments are paid from their payments and there is still tens of billions of pounds that can be handed out in dividends? Wouldn´t it be better to nationalises the water company/companies and have the dividend billions to use for more improvments?

[@dannymcmenemy5151]

read about the great stink of 1858 . because of the stink of raw sewage in the Thames in 1858 parliament ordered the creation of the sewage system we have today . the last Cholera outbreak [ caused by raw sewage in the drinking water ] was in 1864 looks like we are going backwards in time by 160 odd years

[@paulinereid5226]

What a shameless, smug, self-satisfied git!! Who is he speaking for?? Whose side is he on?? They have asset stripped the company, built up levels of debt - from a position of zero when they took it over - and paid themselves huge dividends. Despicable - someone should be held accountable for all that.

[@marrs1013]

Accountable for what? Running a privately owned corporation as it should? For profit? That is literally their single purpose...

[@paulprice2362]

Keep them private & get the people who have stripped it of finances for the last last 30 years to pay! Very simple. It's disgraceful that the government have sat back & done nothing, apart from being involved with this disgusting behaviour. This country needs change, politics need to change, once & for all. Sick of seeing disaster turned into financial gain by the politicians now. They only represent themselves, not us 🤬

[@dixieflatline1189]

Private or state, the issues are the same & has some complexity / hard to "popularise" in the media. What increase to asset value (above inflation) since privatisation ? ROI on infrastructure investment (performance increase / lower Opex / reduced staffing costs / increased population etc) Has your asset value increased in line with your infrastructure investment? If not, why? Performance benchmarks (reliability, new customers, total customers, quality, leaks, turn around time on complaints) Opex efficiency, detailing maintenance costs. Procurement governance & transparency (making sure you don't contract yourself & generate profit on profit) There's a much longer list for the regulator. But they are toothless and pointless, so

[@bigkdog5091]

If what he says about Scottish Water is true, howcome we can go wild swimming in our lochs, rivers and coastlines pretty much without having to worry about getting the shits? We don't have to worry about our drinking water either. Appropriately, he's talking out of his arse

[@dekmackie]

Yup, our water is some on the best on the entire globe

[@ewanwallace7232]

Smoke and mirrors. Don't look at us, look at others.

[@dekmackie]

@@ewanwallace7232 Scotland was probably the worst example, he could of chose india as a comparison to england 😂

[@samuelloification2749]

It is true, you only have to Google it. Probably has something to do with the sheer amount of water in Scotland which would water down the pollution. Population probably has something to do with it as well. Bear in mind that rivers are polluted by farming, businesses, road run off as well as water companies. But it is clear they do not monitor all CSOs but the ones they do pollute when they shouldn't. Even though the river water qualities are better

[@bigkdog5091]

@samuelloification2749 Run off can't be helped or is at least very difficult to deal with but that happens across the world. What is definitely against the law in Scotland is the deliberate dumping of raw, untreated sewerage. It is not the case in England and if it is, the consequences of doing so are probably so insignificant to the companies that they don't care

[@MunsterIrons]

They just talk shite in the knowledge that the public are apathetic, and that they will get away with anything. These people should be fearful for their wellbeing.

[@alextilson9741]

Privatisation does not work without competition. Water and sewage are essential utilities, in which homeowners have only 1 option.

[@chriswilliams8121]

All REGULATORS be it ofwat for water, ofcom for broadband etc and ofgem for energy work for the companies NOT the public things need to change urgently this country has become corruption city

[@CatherineDover]

Nationalized.

[@stephenbull8962]

Poor Public owned is the result of negligence, privatised is due to greed. Government with a backbone is what is required.

[@sueq6]

Have you ever wanted to throw your laptop against a wall !!!!!!

[@buzzukfiftythree]

Ofwat is a complete waste of space. They have sat back while the water companies continue to pump millions of litres of raw sewage into our rivers and lakes. OK, they occasionally issue fines, but who pays the fines? Answer: We do in increased bills. Those bosses who break the law should be personally fined and stripped of their directorships. That might just focus their actions.

[@birdos65]

Got to love Clive Lewis ❤

[@thisismetoday]

I don’t care if you’re clear about it. Why did you think it was proper to behave this way for so long!?? Secondly: This is criminal behaviour. Why are they not being sued!??

[@andrewmacdonald1749]

The problem is that OFWAT appear to have no teeth. They can present the water companies with eye watering fines for sewage leaks. The Water companies then put prices up to pay them. I heard a very good idea for fines for water companies. They should have to be paid in shares. Therefore every time they fail and have a fine they lose a little bit more control of the company, until finally the public end up with controlling share.

[@korolev-musictodriveby6583]

That's the way to do it !

[@qudis7950]

Ofwat does have teeth the big problem the people at Ofwat assumed the water companies would do a good job at self regulating themselves and this has failed, so they hit them with fines, but the companies incorporate the fines into their business plans knowing that the fines are coming, but what's worse is the Board of Ofwat no the water companies management are doing a bad job but they don't know what to do about it.

[@finlayfraser9952]

FFS!

[@jamesbradley4209]

Make them drink their product

[@stephennicol-rj5vl]

So English water is better than Scottish water,was it pishi sunak that wrote his answers

[@petehayward7478]

Don’t see why they are all sat there with bottled water….they produce water they should be drinking it, or is tap water just for the peasants !.

[@Upemm]

Brilliant comment !

[@lesleyrobertson5465]

I’m surprised more people in England are not unwell

[@fat-shotgolf2937]

He said 'climate crisis' with that he lost all respect. By the end, they all lost it. The problem has zero to do with climate and 100% with not doing a good job.

[@sarkybugger5009]

Well, glad he cleared that up for us. Nothing to see here, apparently. It's all just the way things are nowadays.

[@fatwalletboy2]

Yep thats "the model"

[@davidnash41]

It should be publically owned

[@SRB3ll]

Until there are consequences for this despicable behaviour nothing at all will change. The regulator is absolutely useless, his response of “well, Scotland and Wales are worse” makes me think he works for the water companies rather than safeguarding the public interest.

[@dekmackie]

Scottish water is some of the best on the planet, english tap water is not even in the same league.

[@korolev-musictodriveby6583]

The Public Interest is fast becoming the Enemy Of The State !

[@fiddler111]

At least here in SCOTLAND we can drink water straight from the tap

[@ClaggyPants]

"They have assets of 19 billion of pounds". May well be the case but surely thats £19bn of assets you cant just go ahead and liquidate to service the debt. Why are they allowed in the first place to secure loans against those assets, to effectively give away to shareholders the money they've borrowed.

[@marrs1013]

Private corporation always do that. That is their single purpose. If you give anything to a corporation, it will run it for profit, and profit only. It's management is only succesful if they constantly growing the profit. There is literally no other measurment for success. If they fail, they are replaced. This will lead to ruthless ways, as profit must grow, regardless of everything else. Corporations evolving for centuries for that single purpose, we just trying to catch up with them recently, as more information is available about their practices. They are way ahead of us.

[@TheBigears1]

As a consumer, I have decided that I will not pay any increase that the water company has asked for. The regulator can get stuffed as well.

[@rb4peace]

‘Investment proposition model’ is all they care about…the ‘market’ is king and that’s all the companies and ofwat care about its not about clean, safe drinking water or sewage free rivers, lake and seas. It’s a cash cow and the only actual investors are the bill payers

[@swampthing20]

Sewage dumps at the Committee hearing? It's bad enough in the rivers.

[@BananaBananaBanana-y3k]

How much of Thames Water's asset 'growth' is simply due to asset inflation over the period? It is misleading to just detail total asset value growth without detailing whether there has been an increase in number of assets or creation of new assets.

[@flemster8370]

Instead of bottled water on the tables I would have made them drink tap water

[@eamonfire]

Missed the bit where they were told that water on the table was brought in from Devon, especially for him. As in Erin Brockovitz.

[@gdj6298]

A little drinky-poos. Literally.

[@clacton17]

Should we be surprised that rich companies/share holders are creaming off money from what used to be OUR/Public companies. Is there any Privatization that's worked for us.

[@korolev-musictodriveby6583]

No.

[@seebarry4068]

You get a £15 voucher though. Should cover the extra toilet roll.

[@JaxReads]

Some people started dying and others having to spend time in hospital, so they upped it to £115.

[@shaun906]

they borrowed 60 billion, gave themselves 60 billion now they owe 70 biilion. but nothing was done to the system?

[@peterdobson3347]

And 5) that the level of fines should be so low that it does not constitute a deterrent to the illegal dumping of raw sewage into rivers

[@qj1247]

They should have put the tap water in those bottles and told them at the end.. "just to let you know what you've been drinking since your confident with the current system!!"

[@coppershark1973]

Clive Lewis is a great chap. He’s one of the ONLY politicians that is a decent man and understands the disaster we are all living through, namely TORY BRITAIN.

[@blue_jay31]

I wonder where he getting his water from ! 😢

[@KimWilliamsmixupchannel]

Is that why everyone there are drinking bottles waters??hmmmm

[@polarbear7791]

And what goes into them?

[@djord5830]

if the majority of investment was early on in the privatisation process as he says then you need to factor in inflation to his figures so the £19000000000 of assets become £7,983,193,277 worth of investment, and would you believe it thats less than the £15000000000 debt.

[@TerriObrien-mi5rx]

Why is he smirking, ifs BS he’s spouting 🤡🤡🤡🤡

[@JaxReads]

It's taught to you in public speaking/media classes that it apparently helps you appear confident. These days, it makes you look like an utter bellend, but I don't think they got the updated memo.

[@MrDavideaton]

Why are dividends being paid when their performance has shown that it is not deserved

[@PaulaTerryLancaster]

Dear God.

[@matlew1960]

Is this the same chief executive of Ofwat, David Black who enjoys having lavish lunches and dinners all paid for by the executives of the Water industries. I think it's actually against the law.

[@JaxReads]

It is indeed against the law, and the Civil Service Code. You cannot accept gifts in any way shape or form. But apparently if you're the head of something in this country, no-one bats an eyelid.

[@andrewf7754]

Total evasion of the questions.

[@ryiin]

This is fraud.

[@richardclarke82008]

The companies were meant to be investing for the past 30 years ffs

[@ericritchie6783]

... So how does it work the asset holding go's from 1 to 15 billion? Which allows for leveraging debt of 19 billion? ... Is it something to do with application of standing charges and the population increase, that makes the asset holdings worth more? Alongside 30 years inflation of course? Otherwise what actually makes the asset tangibly, physically worth more? What was physically invested?

[@adrianashby1033]

As a Scot I can tell you the point about leakage is nonsense. I have never seen the roads opened up for water pipework in Glasgow or Edinburgh as much as I have in London, Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds etc. Scotland has TOO MUCH clean potable water and drinking water that rivals many bottled waters. I won't be so vulgar as to share my monthly bill but suffice to say it's far less than my phone!!!!

[@samuelloification2749]

It's because they have so much that they don't care about leakage. Scotland are terrible on leaks but it doesn't matter because there is so much water in Scotland. The reason you don't see the roads dug up is because they don't try and fix them

[@dwightmark3288]

No one gets jailed

[@axelovingguy]

As a regulator - ban the dumping of human waste into water ways. If a company is found to have done so then prohibit the payment of dividends. It’s simple. The water companies would then make sure it didn’t happen. This man is a mouth piece for private water companies and not a regulator.

[@davidwilson5073]

this country is a absolute laughing stock

[@noidear7216]

The powers that be is rotten to the core .

[@adriancurtin6012]

Make the water bosses bath in their own polited waters!

[@DesJnr]

Am I right in saying only 2 countries in the world have a privatised water system? One of them being the UK And am I right in saying neither of them work?

[@dekmackie]

No not the UK, Scotland has perfect water, and its nationalised

[@DesJnr]

@@dekmackie Whoops. Sorry.....Can you send us some....Pleease.🤣

[@dekmackie]

@@DesJnr Sell you some! 😂😂Saying that, it will be worth a fortune in the future.

[@JaxReads]

Us and Chile have fully privatised systems that are broken. Spain apparently has privatised water as well, but it's a lot more regulated. No David Black types having dinners with the heads of water companies for example.

[@BananaBananaBanana-y3k]

Never trust an Australian talking about water (just look at what australia's water 'market' looks like)