MPs meet with Water Minister
South West MPs have met with Water Minister, Huw Irranca-Davies, this morning (Wednesday) to press him to implement the recommendations of the Walker Review without delay.
The Conservatives’ privatisation of the water industry in 1989 caused bills to soar over the course of the last twenty years. South West Water customers face the highest charges in the country, to maintain the vast stretch of coastline in the region.
Liberal Democrat MPs have long campaigned for measures to help the poorest customers, and to equalise water charges across the country. They secured the independent review of water pricing, conducted by Anna Walker, which reported yesterday.
The Minister said he would consider the Review’s recommendations, and was seeking advice from OFWAT, the water regulator, on how to move forward.
Commenting, North Cornwall’s MP, Dan Rogerson said:
“We had to fight hard to get this independent review.
“Now it has reported, its recommendations largely mirror the proposals we have put forward for years. Anna Walker recognises that Cornwall got a particularly bad deal out of privatisation, and that the rest of the country should bear a fairer share of the coastal clean up bill.
“Ministers are clearly keen to make progress but Cornwall has already waited too long. The Government must announce quickly how it intends to implement the review’s conclusions.”
Teignbridge MP, Richard Younger-Ross added:
“Support for our approach from this independent review is a big boost to our campaign to end sky-high water charges in the South West.
“But reports alone do not make the changes people in Cornwall and Devon need.
“It is up to Ministers to act.”
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