Lords asks government to think again on Water (Special Measures) Bill

The Water (Special Measures) Bill seeks to strengthen the power of water industry regulators and put failing water companies under special measures.

Detailed scrutiny

Report stage is an extra chance for members to closely scrutinise elements of the bill and make changes.

Proposed changes

Members speaking at report stage put forward amendments (PDF) to the bill on subjects including:

• natural flood prevention solutions
• Ofwat duties regarding climate change
• water company and regulator engagement with civil society.

Votes

There were four divisions (votes) on proposed changes to the bill.

Members agreed to two changes on the timely reporting of water company financial structuring and the introduction deadline for Ofwat's rules on remuneration and governance.

Two further proposed changes, on ensuring performance-related pay is not awarded retroactively and preventing consumers from incurring higher bills to offset the costs of the government's special administration orders, were voted on but disagreed to by Lords members.

Catch up

• Watch the Parliament TV recording.
• Read the Lords Hansard transcript.

Explore background information

Find out more about the issues the debate covers in the House of Lords Library briefing.

Next steps

Third reading, a final chance to amend the bill, is scheduled to take place on Tuesday 26 November.

What's happened so far?

Committee stage

Committee stage, a chance to thoroughly examine individual parts (clauses) of the bill, took place on Monday 4 November.

Second reading

Second reading, a full debate on the key principles of the bill, took place on Wednesday 9 October.

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