Wokingham’s MP Clive Jones has called for Thames Water to be put into special administration.
In a Westminster debate last Wednesday, he repeated his calls for Thames Water to be put into a special regime.
This, he claimed, is necessary in light of Thames Water’s worsening record on sewage spills, even as they were permitted by Ofwat to raise water bills by 35%.
The Guardian has reported that millions of pounds of these rises in water bills do not go towards pledged environmental clean-ups, but instead of bonuses and dividends.
Furthermore, it stated that Thames Water held up almost 100 projects, including schemes to reduce phosphorus pollution in rivers, without warning Ofwat first. What they did not hold up however, was dividend and director bonuses, which were paid out as normal.
Jones argued this is a clear reflection of Thames Water’s priorities, and shows that Thames Water cannot be trusted to behave responsibly with even higher bills.
Children and adults alike deserve to be able to swim or row in our local environment without the fear of e-coli or other serious illnesses, he said.
This will not happen while Thames Water is allowed to continue neglecting rivers and waterways, ramping up costs on consumers, and paying out massive bonuses to its bosses despite being £19 billion in debt.
He said: “Not a single stretch of river in my constituency is in good overall health.
“And yet, last month, Thames Water were permitted by Ofwat to raise water bills by 35%.
“Thames Water has been a disaster for our water quality in Wokingham.
“In 2023, they were responsible for 130 sewage spills that lasted a duration of 943 hours.
“We need to reset this unsalvageable mess to ensure that the existing situation of more than a third of customer bills going towards interest on Thames Water’s debt ceases, and is instead spent on infrastructure improvements.”
