Over the last two summers, residents in Ashfield have suffered unacceptable disruption to their water supply. I have been working hard to hold Severn Trent Water to account, to ensure that these supply issues are sorted and that Ashfield residents do not suffer the same issues again next summer.
Over the summer, I asked the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps does his department take to a) ensure water companies such as Severn Trent operate to a sufficient standard b) to protect consumers from persistent issues with the water supply system.
The response from the Secretary of State is below:
Ofwat, the independent economic regulator for water and wastewater services in England and Wales, holds all water companies to account for the delivery of secure and resilient water services.
Through its price review process, Ofwat has set improvement targets for all companies to reduce main bursts by 12% and supply interruptions by 41% between 2020 and 2025. Companies must publish their performance annually against key targets.
Customers of water and sewerage companies are entitled to guaranteed minimum standards of service under the guaranteed standards scheme. Where a company fails to meet any of these standards of service then it is required to make a specified payment to the affected customer.
You may also be interested in watching the Public Meeting I held with Severn Trent in August, where local residents were able to question Senior figures from Severn Trent. The video is above for your convenience.
