Public failed by water regulators and government - as bills rise, spending watchdog says
As trust in the water industry reaches a record low, bills are rising at a rate last seen 20 years ago.
Water regulators and the government have failed to provide a trusted and resilient industry at the same time as bills rise, the state spending watchdog has said.
Public trust in the water sector has reached a record low, according to a report from the National Audit Office (NAO) on the privatised industry.
Yet something else seems to hover over this problem, the same thing that hovers over HS2, Net Zero and government projects generally. Untreated sewage spills aren't the problem, we have a colossal problem with incompetence, both political and within the whole machinery of government.
5 comments:
You could make a reasonable argument that adding 'watchdogs' and '*coms just adds an extra layer of bureaucracy to thin and divert the blame, provide endless excuses, and reward more people with public service jobs. Not actually deal with real issues.
Me? Cynical? Surely not.
Be of good cheer. Apparently the unprivatised Scottish water industry is even worse.
"As trust in the water industry reaches a record low, bills are rising at a rate last seen 20 years ago."
Luckily, as we live in a tied house, we don't pay for the water. If we did, I'd be asking for several years' worth of refunds. That's what a genuinely private company would be more or less forced to do.
As per Tim Worstalls blog.
We did a nice experiment in the UK.
England- privatised with major caveats to impaired efficiency & add bureacracy.
Scotland - state run whole region
Wales - state run sub regions
NI - local authority run.
So which ones work best or which ones have improved the most?
England Wales Scotland & NI in that order.
Funny that
DJ - it's not cynical at all, it's what they do, spread the responsibility until it becomes so thin that it disappears. Ghost responsibility.
dearieme - and expensive I imagine.
Sam - yes, it's a long way from being genuinely private.
Nessimmersion - I didn't know that but I'm not surprised. From what I see, the water companies in England aren't too bad but attract a lot of negative stories, some of which seem to be associated with political pressure to nationalise rather than improve regulation.
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