Chichester MP hold’s water sector to account

Chichester MP Jess Brown-Fuller is already acting on her election pledge to highlight and address the problems surrounding sewage pollution and water quality.

As the new Parliamentary Session kicked off, Jess joined the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Water.  This group provides a forum for Parliamentarians and other stakeholders to monitor government and regulatory policy and to question water regulators and companies.

During the first meeting, Ofwat representatives were asked about a range of issues including regulation, planning reforms, capital investment projects, fines, and water quality.

Jess questioned why punitive fines on water companies went to the Treasury rather than fixing problems. Ofwat pointed out that other regulators, such as Ofgem, have the power to ringfence fines to improve infrastructure but not water regulators.

“This is something the APPG will be looking to explore,” said Jess.

Also, last week Jess spoke to the media, including ITV, BBC and Sussex World, to point out that the government needs to do more to tackle issues surrounding sewage and water quality. 

The Water Measures Bill, announced last week, is part of a range of measures outlined by Environment Minister Steve Reed to tackle the water and sewage crises.

“While I support the government in its drive to address the sewage scandal, I do not believe that Labour’s proposals go far enough to adequately tackles the sort of issues we have been seeing in our area. In the coming months, I and my Liberal Democrats will be pushing the government to go further and faster to put an end to this scandal,” said Jess.