Water (Special Measures) Act 2025
| Act of Parliament | |
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| Long title | An Act to make provision about the regulation, governance and special administration of water companies. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 2025 c. 5 |
| Introduced by | Steve Reed MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Commons) Baroness Hayman of Ullock, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lords) |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 24 February 2025 |
Status: Current legislation | |
| History of passage through Parliament | |
| Text of the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |
The Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 (c. 5) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom relating to the regulation of the water industry in England and Wales.
Provisions
The act gives the relevant regulator the power to ban executives from receiving bonuses in certain circumstances.[1][2] In England, the relevant regulator is Ofwat, and in Wales the relevant regulator is Natural Resources Wales.[1][2]
The act also allows the imprisonment of water industry CEOs if they refuse to comply with these measures.[3]
The legislation requires the installation of real-time monitors at sewage outlets.[4] The water regulators have the access to independently scrutinise the data.[4]
Reception
The Liberal Democrats' spokesperson criticised the legislation as inadequate and described the act as being not "fundamental reform".[5]
References
- ^ a b "UK Government grants Ofwat new powers to force polluting water companies to ban exec bonuses". Smart Water Magazine. 6 June 2025. Archived from the original on 6 June 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
- ^ a b "UK Government's new water legislation will apply to Wales". Nation.Cymru. 18 September 2024. Archived from the original on 25 June 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
- ^ Lamb, Peter (12 March 2025). "Political opinion: Labour's landmark Water (Special Measures) Bill gains Royal Assent to become Law, and introduces legislation to crack down on bosses polluting waterways in Crawley". Sussex World. Archived from the original on 6 June 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
- ^ a b Beament, Emily (18 July 2024). "New regulations as Labour tries to answer public anger over water companies". Independent. Archived from the original on 6 June 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
- ^ Masud, Faarea; Espiner, Tom (6 June 2025). "Bosses' bonuses banned at six water companies". BBC News. Archived from the original on 6 June 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
External links
The full text of Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 at Wikisource