A New Vision for Water Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Environment

A New Vision for Water Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs by Command of His Majesty January 2026

The government published its water white paper, A new vision for water, in January 2026, setting out its plans to “overhaul the water system” in England and Wales.

The publication of the water white paper followed earlier measures to reform aspects of water regulation through introducing new legislation and an independent review of the water sector.

In September 2026, the government said that it will publish plans for “stronger public control” over water later this year, and will introduce a strengthened water bill to Parliament to deliver these.

What changes has the government already made to water regulation?

Following the general election in July 2024, the Labour Government announced initial steps to “clean up the water industry”. These steps included immediate measures, such as ringfencing investment in water infrastructure, and plans for longer-term measures, such as introducing new legislation and launching a wider independent review of water sector regulation.

The Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 was introduced to Parliament in September 2024 to:

• strengthen regulation of the water industry
• enable the water industry’s economic regulator, Ofwat, to ban the payment of bonuses to water company executives if environmental standards are not met
• increase accountability for water company executives

For more information, see the Commons Library briefing Water (Special Measures) Bill 2024-2025.

In October 2024, the UK and Welsh Governments launched a joint Independent Commission into the water sector and its regulation. It was chaired by the former Governor of the Bank of England, Jon Cunliffe, and was “expected to form the largest review of the industry since privatisation”.

In July 2025, the final report of the Independent Commission was published. The report made 88 recommendations and concluded that a ‘fundamental reset” of the water sector was needed. It recommended:

• abolishing Ofwat
• creating a new single water industry regulator for England
• devolving and integrating water industry regulation into the environmental regulator in Wales

In tandem with the publication of the Independent Commission’s report, the then Environment Secretary, Steve Reed, made a statement in the House of Commons addressing the report and confirming the government’s plans to create a new single regulator for the water sector in England, as well as wider regulatory reforms.

In January 2026, the government published its water white paper, A new vision for water, which set out its response to the Cunliffe review and its plan to “overhaul the water system”. In a statement in the House of Commons, the Environment Secretary, Emma Reynolds, set out the plans outlined in the white paper, including plans for a new single regulator and wider policy reforms, and confirmed that the white paper would be followed by a 2026 Transition Plan and a Water Reform Bill.

What is included in the water white paper?

The water white paper sets out that the government intends to reform the water sector to focus on the long term, with ‘preventative regulation’ that addresses issues before problems occur. It says that the government is aiming to do this by:  

• establishing a new integrated water regulator
• introducing reforms to focus on long-term priorities
• attracting third-party investment in the water sector
• delivering better outcomes for water customers and the environment, such as improved company responsibility and reduced pollution

A new single regulator for the water industry

The water white paper provides more information about the planned new single regulator for the water industry, including some of the powers that will enable to it to do its job. Broadly, the plans for the regulator include:

• the introduction of a Chief Engineer within the regulator to “bringback the hands-on checks of water infrastructure Ofwat has failed to provide, ending the days of water firms marking their own homework”  
• an ‘MOT’ approach to checking that water company infrastructure is working as it should be, focusing on preventing problems before they become more serious
• stronger inspection powers, enabling the regulator to conduct ‘no notice’ inspections of water companies
• the introduction of water-company-specific supervisory teams
• the introduction of a new Performance Improvement Regime to enable to the regulator to act quickly and “fix failures”

While the creation of the new water industry regulator will likely require primary legislation (through a water reform bill), the water white paper states that the government intends to appoint leadership for the new regulator as soon as possible.

Long-term priorities

The white paper sets out that the forthcoming Transition Plan will include more information about changes to how regulation will consider long-term priorities. This will include planned reforms to strategic policy statements, as well as a more joined-up regional planning function (to be co-developed with local groups in 2026).

The white paper also sets out details about how water resource planning will be streamlined, synthesising multiple plans and processes into two core frameworks (one focused on water supply, and a second on water environment). These format and design of these frameworks will be informed by engagement with regional groups.  

Investment

The white paper includes plans to attract greater investment in the water sector from third parties. The government sets out that it plans to retain the five-year price review cycle in the short term, transitioning to a longer-term 25-year delivery plan with checkpoints every five years. It also sets out plans to simplify existing performance commitments to make water companies more attractive to investors.

Customer protection

The white paper set out that a new Water Ombudsman will be created to support water customers, with legally binding powers to resolve customer complaints. The government statement on the paper sets out that the reforms will provide “stronger protections to keep bills predictable, affordable and fair” for customers.

Wider policy measures

The water white paper includes plans to improve long-term water security. For example, the introduction of new mapping and statutory resilience standards to improve understanding of existing water infrastructure, is intended to determine when upgrades are needed. Such reforms are intended to “help water companies get spades in the ground faster to build and maintain more resilient infrastructure”.

It also sets out wider measures, including the rollout of smart metering and water-efficiency labelling (which will signpost the water consumption costs of household appliances to consumers).

More detail about the current regulatory approach and the government’s plans is set out in the Commons Library briefing Economic regulation of the water industry.

What are the next steps?

The next steps outlined in the water white paper are for the UK and Welsh Governments to jointly publish the 2026 Transition Plan (accompanied by interim strategic guidance for the current regulators), and for the UK Government to introduce a water reform bill to Parliament.

In his speech at the September 2026 Labour Party conference, the Prime Minister announced plans for a strengthened water bill to remove limits on government share ownership in water companies. The government press release said that this would allow flexibility for it to “consider a wide range of possible future interventions, including on ownership models”. More information about the ongoing debate about water ownership is set out in the Commons Library briefing Ownership of the water sector. The government also said that new powers for local leaders will be developed as part of the reforms.

The government has said that more details on its approach will be set out in a 10 year plan for Britain, to be published later this year.

SOURCE