Claire Young MP slams Wessex Water for hiking bills despite failing services

The Liberal Democrat MP for Thornbury & Yate Claire Young has slammed Wessex Water after they asked the water regulator for permission to charge their customers more for failing services.

The firm are one of six water companies asking the regulator Ofwat to allow them to roll out even higher bills for their customers. Customers are already set to see bills rise by £113 this April, an increase of 20%, all whilst pumping sewage into local rivers and waterways.  

Liberal Democrats have said that this behaviour is unacceptable and that it’s time for the “toothless” regulator Ofwat to be replaced with a new regulator for failing to hold water companies to account.

Claire Young MP said:

“It is scandalous that water company executives who have spent years lining their own pockets are now trying to whack up bills on customers, whilst they continue to pump gallons of disgusting sewage into British seas and rivers.

“Ofwat has utterly failed to hold these firms accountable for their financial and environmental mismanagement. The government must replace the toothless Ofwat with a new regulator that has real power to ensure customers don’t have to foot the bill for water company failures.

"I will continue to fight to shield customers from the cost of Wessex Water’s failures and to push the government to reform the broken water industry to ensure it is working for the benefit of customers, local communities, and our environment."