‘Increase in water bills’ to pay for £10bn investment, says industry chief

Published

2 years ago

May 18, 2023

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A £10bn investment from water companies to stop sewage spills will be paid for by customers through “modest increases to their bills”.

Ruth Kelly, chair of Water UK, told Sky News that water firms will provide a “huge multi-billion down-payment” to start “the biggest transformation project since Victorian times”.

She added: “The way the system works is that over the lifetime of the assets, customers do pay that money back in modest increases in their bills.”

Cost of living latest: EasyJet hikes tickets by 31%

Ms Kelly said that over the last 10 years, water bills have fallen for most people and “research shows us that customers are prepared to pay a little bit more to see this sort of investment undertaken”.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, she said customers will be contributing to the works for 50 years “or perhaps even longer, maybe up to 100 years”.

It comes amid outrage over the multi-million pound bonuses and dividends paid to water company bosses despite huge levels of untreated sewage being pumped into the UK’s rivers.

Earlier, industry body Water UK pledged to invest £10 billion to clean up their act and said campaigners were “right to be upset” as it issued an apology.

But critics have questioned why firms aren’t paying to fix the problems themselves, with musician and clean river campaigner Feargal Sharkey saying the announcement is “nothing to celebrate whatsoever”.

Asked why customers are having to put their hands in their pockets when water companies paid £1.4 billion in dividends last year, Ms Kelly told Sky’s Ian King “dividends have been at very low levels compared to other sectors”.

She added: “As a sign of the seriousness with which the companies are taking this issue, all water company CEOs have come together and they said they’re not going to pay a single penny in bonuses out of customer funds this year.”

Sewage spills won’t be entirely eliminated

There were 301,091 sewage spills in 2022 in England, an average of 824 a day, according to Environment Agency figures.

A string of recent high-profile incidents, including a sewage discharge at a picturesque beach in Cornwall, have fuelled disgust over the issue.

Water UK said the £10bn comes in addition to a previous commitment to invest £3.1bn, and will be spent this decade.

This will pay for measures including enlarging and improving pipes and installing the equivalent of thousands of Olympic-sized swimming pools underground to hold surges in rainwater that would otherwise overload the system.

The package aims to cut sewage overflows by up to 140,000 each year, compared with 2020 levels.

However, Ms Kelly admitted sewage spills won’t be stopped completely because of the Victorian-era design of the system.

“You wouldn’t design a system like that today, but that is the system we’ve got. And it is going to take time to put that right,” she said.

“We won’t get to a situation where they [sewage spills] all disappear but we are going to make a dramatic impact on the harm by spills.”

Plans ‘don’t go far enough’

The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey, said Water UK’s apology and plans “don’t go far enough”.

“For years water companies have arrogantly dismissed the public’s fears of rivers, lakes and coastlines being damaged by sewage discharges,” he said.

“This announcement does nothing to match the billions water firms have paid out in dividends to overseas investors, or stop their CEO’s being handed multi-million pound bonuses.”

Mr Davey, whose party made significant gains in the local elections after putting sewage dumping at the heart of their campaign, also called on Environment Secretary Therese Coffey to apologise.

He said: “This Conservative government has been pathetic on stopping sewage discharges into rivers, and every Conservative MP owes their constituents an apology for voting against tougher action. It says a lot when profiteering polluters have the decency to apologise, yet the government refuse.”

World

Ten explosions near international airport in India-administered part of Kashmir, officials say

Published

4 hours ago

May 9, 2025

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Ten explosions have been heard near Srinagar International Airport in India-administered parts of Kashmir, officials have told Reuters news agency.

The blasts followed blackouts caused by multiple projectiles, which were seen in the sky above the city of Jammu earlier on Friday.

Explosions were also heard in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar, in the neighbouring Punjab state, according to Reuters.

An Indian military official told the agency that “drones have been sighted” and “they are being engaged”.

It comes as tensions between India and Pakistan across the line of control around the region of Kashmir have boiled over this week, leading to fears of a wider conflict.

On Wednesday morning, India carried out missile strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered parts of the disputed region.

The retaliation came weeks after 26 people, mainly Indian tourists, were shot dead by gunmen in an India-administered part of Kashmir last month.

The government in India said it hit nine “terrorist infrastructure” sites, while Pakistan said it was not involved in the April attack and the sites were not militant bases.

Around 48 people have been killed since Wednesday, according to casualty estimates on both sides – which have not been independently verified.

India also suspended its top cricket tournament, the Indian Premier League, as a result of rising tensions, while the Pakistan Super League moved the remainder of its season to the United Arab Emirates.

Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a conference on Friday that the US is in constant contact with both India and Pakistan.

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World

Pope Leo: How voting for new pontiff unfolded behind closed doors of the conclave

Published

4 hours ago

May 9, 2025

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Pope Leo: How voting for new pontiff unfolded behind closed doors of the conclave

Conclaves are famously unpredictable affairs – and once again the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as the new pope caught many by surprise.

The newly elected Pope Leo XIV won the consensus of the 133 cardinal electors after only four ballots – a fast process for a diverse college of cardinals.

Though his name had circulated among some Vatican watchers, other cardinals had emerged as clear front-runners, including Pietro Parolin – the Vatican’s number two who would have been the first Italian in almost 50 years to become pontiff – or Luis Tagle, a Filipino cardinal looking to become the first Asian pope.

Instead, it was the first North American to win the highly secretive process.

So, what went on behind the closed doors of the Sistine Chapel?

Until Thursday lunchtime, Cardinal Parolin was ahead, gathering between 45 and 55 votes, sources say.

A substantial number, but well short of the 89 votes he needed for a two-thirds majority.

At this point, Cardinal Prevost had between 34 and 44 votes.

But as the Italian struggled to grow his support during the first three rounds of voting, he stepped down from the race, endorsing Prevost instead, Sky News understands.

An internal battle between Luis Tagle and Pablo Virgilio David – both cardinals hailing from Asia – cancelled out both of their chances.

And a contender from Africa – the most conservative sector of the church – was never likely for a conclave where the overwhelming majority of cardinals had been appointed by Francis, a progressive pontiff, sources say.

An American pope has long been seen as highly improbable, given the geopolitical power of the US.

But Cardinal Prevost was able to draw from across the groups making up the electors: moderate US cardinals, South American cardinals and many European cardinals all coalesced around him.

Italian newspaper La Repubblica said Prevost “certainly attracted cross-party preferences, both ideologically and geographically”.

“In the conclave he was the least American of Americans: Born in Chicago, he lived 20 years in Peru,” the newspaper said.

It added: “As a man used to teamwork, Prevost appeared to many as the right man to make the papacy evolve into a more collegial form.”

World

Russia’s Victory Day parade felt more like a celebration of war than peace

Published

4 hours ago

May 9, 2025

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Russia's Victory Day parade felt more like a celebration of war than peace

Standing on Red Square, this was an intimidating sight, which felt much more like a celebration of war rather than peace.

I could feel the ground shake as the tanks rolled past, their caterpillar tracks on the ancient cobbles providing a deafening clatter.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up in fear as the phalanxes of troops roared “Hurrah” in response to their commander in chief.

And the sight of combat drones being paraded on their launchers was actually quite sickening. Weapons that have been at the forefront of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine were paraded in a show of pomp and patriotism.

Ukraine war latest: Putin welcomes Xi at Victory Day parade

For the rest of Europe, the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War has been a celebration of peace, but this felt much more like a celebration of war.

And it wasn’t just military hardware on display here, but the very identity of modern Russia.

For this is a country that is now defined by its military and its memory. The glory and sacrifice of 1945 have been weaponised to give credence to Russia’s current course and to make people believe that victory is their right.

For Russians, it served as a rallying cry and there was applause when the troops who have fought against Ukraine marched past.

But for those watching in Kyiv and other European capitals, it was an overt warning that Moscow has no intention of backing down.

The parade was considerably larger in scale than in recent years, when units and hardware have been needed on the battlefield. I think it was a deliberate attempt to project an image of confidence, and so was Vladimir Putin‘s positioning of his guests.

China’s Xi Jinping was given a prime position on the Kremlin leader’s right-hand side. It was no surprise given the economic lifeline Beijing has provided, but it felt like a particularly pointed gesture to the West – that they were looking at a new world order.

Despite that appearance of confidence, there were signs of Moscow’s unease that the parade could be disrupted.

There were snipers on every rooftop. Security was extremely tight. And the mobile internet signal across the city centre was completely shut down for fear of Ukrainian drone attacks, meaning none of the international media that had gathered could broadcast any live transmissions.

After the parade finished, Putin saluted the crowds as they spontaneously erupted into rhythmic shouts of “Rus-si-ya” at the sight of him.

Another PR coup complete without interruption, he will have departed as a very happy man.