In response to the announcement of an Independent Commission into the water sector and its regulation Dr Doug Parr, Policy Director of Greenpeace UK, said:

“An Independent Commission on wide-ranging reform of the water sector is long overdue, with public patience already worn very thin and further increases in bills announced today. But whether it will lead to the transformative change we need depends upon balancing the demands of investors with a commitment to properly enforce more effective regulation. Too much emphasis on making the sector attractive to big international investors like Macquarie is the exact reason why our waterways are in such an appalling state today. With a natural monopoly on an essential resource like water, we need a regulatory system that forces the industry to provide an acceptable minimum level of service, including an end to the routine discharges of raw sewage. If big international investors are unable to make sufficient profit in that environment, then clearly this is not a problem that can be solved by big international investors, and the government will have to do what every other country in the world has done and look at other ownership options.”