Consumers could be allowed to attend water company board meetings under new rules proposed by the regulator.

Companies may survey and research customers to understand their views, involve them in decision-making and seek feedback on consumers’ experience.

Under the suggested reforms by regulator Ofwat, customer voices could be heard by making changes to a company’s governing body, the board of directors.

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The obligation to hear billpayers’ views could be met by boards allocating time for consumer matters, arranging for consumer experts to attend, holding open board meetings for the public, or by having an independent director with a consumer focus.

Boards could also comply by arranging for independent consumer experts, such as the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), to regularly attend.

Topics that consumers will have to be consulted on include the cost of bills, performance of key water services, support when things go wrong – like water outages – and the company’s investment priorities.

When decisions likely to materially impact consumers are made, the water company needs to have clear processes to ensure consumers are involved, Ofwat said.

As well as including water users in decision-making, utilities will have to work to understand how decisions impact consumers so those views are taken into account in future decisions.

Seeking this feedback must involve engaging with the new consumer panels being developed by the CCW to hold companies to account, Ofwat’s rules outline.

Why’s this being done?

It’s all part of the government’s aim to rebuild trust in the water sector and to improve accountability, transparency and performance in water firms.

The public has been outraged by record sewage outflows and polluted waterways at a time when senior executives are receiving bonuses and bills are rising.

New powers were granted to regulator Ofwat to clean up the sector, and rules on pay and bonuses were developed and took effect in June.

They’ve already been used to claw back bonuses.

What next?

Stakeholders have until 1 October to respond to the consultation, with Ofwat intending the rules take effect on existing water utilities in April.

Consultations already took place to make the suggested rules with 11,000 responses received from businesses, groups and individuals.

Not all of the replies made their way into the rules. The idea of having MPs and local authorities involved in decision-making, received from “several respondents”, appears not to have been included.

It comes despite the recent announcement of Ofwat being scrapped, as part of a once-in-a-generation review of the sector.

It and the other regulators are to be replaced by one single body.

Ofwat said it was working until new arrangements were in place and continuing to implement rules on remuneration and governance.

How’s it been received?

Environmental charity River Action said to rebuild trust in the industry, the government “needs to go a lot further than tinkering around the edges”.

“We need a complete overhaul of how water companies are owned, financed and governed. That means ending privatisation and instead operating for public benefit,” chief executive James Wallace said.

Industry group Water UK said: “It is important customers are involved in water companies’ decision-making.

“We will continue to work with government on these proposed rules and other vital reforms to secure our water supplies, support economic growth and end sewage entering our rivers and seas.”

More than 200 UK pubs closed in the first half of the year as part of a “heartbreaking” trend which industry bosses fear is set to accelerate.

Analysis of government figures revealed 209 pubs were demolished or converted for other uses over the opening six months of 2025 – around eight every week.

The South East was hit the hardest, losing 31 pubs during the period.

It means 2,283 pubs have vanished from communities across England and Wales since the start of 2020.

Industry bosses said the “really sad pattern” is being driven by the high costs faced by pubs – and called for government reforms to business rates and beer duty.

Many pubs have been hit by changes to discounts on business rates, the property tax affecting high street businesses.

Hospitality businesses received a 60% discount on their business rates up to a cap of £110,000 – but this was cut to only 25% in April.

Pub owners had warned such a move would place significant pressure on their industry.

Last month, the owner of a pub told Sky News “you can’t make money anymore” and “it’s not surprising so many pubs are closing at an alarming rate”.

‘Staying open becomes impossible’

A rise in the national minimum wage and national insurance payments have also increased bills for pubs.

Alex Probyn, of commercial real estate specialists Ryan, which analysed the government data, said the higher costs are “all quietly draining profits until staying open becomes impossible”.

He added: “Slashing business rates relief for pubs from 75% to 40% this year has landed the sector with an extra £215m in tax bills.

“For a small pub, that’s a leap in the average bill from £3,938 to £9,451 – a 140% increase.”

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‘A lot of these pubs never come back’

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer And Pub Association, said: “It’s absolutely heartbreaking and there is a direct link between pubs closing for good and the huge jump in costs they have just endured.

“Pubs and brewers are important employers, drivers of economic growth, but are also really valuable to local communities across the country and have real social value.

“This is a really sad pattern, and unfortunately a lot of these pubs never come back.

“The government needs to act at the budget, with major reforms to business rates and beer duty.”

BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, is backing a controversial bid by the metals tycoon Sanjeev Gupta to retain control of his faltering UK steel empire.

Sky News has learnt that executives at BlackRock have authorised the issuance of a financing support letter which could enable Mr Gupta to continue to exert a grip on Liberty Steel’s Speciality Steels UK (SSUK) arm – which employs nearly 1,500 people in South Yorkshire.

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People close to the situation said on Monday that private capital funds managed by BlackRock had expressed a willingness to provide tens of millions of pounds to Liberty Steel UK.

One source suggested the figure could be as high as £75m.

Sky News revealed at the weekend that Mr Gupta was lining up a so-called connected pre-pack administration of SSUK that would result in it ridding itself of hundreds of millions of pounds of tax and other liabilities.

BlackRock, which declined to comment, is already understood to have provided funds to Liberty Steel in the US and Australia.

Mr Gupta is racing to finalise a deal ahead of a winding-up petition hearing scheduled for Wednesday which could result in the compulsory liquidation of SSUK.

One source close to the tycoon expressed a belief that the hearing would be adjourned, as it had been in May and July.

Begbies Traynor, the accountancy firm, is working on efforts to progress the pre-pack deal.

Whitehall sources said at the weekend that government officials had stepped up planning for the collapse of SSUK if the winding-up petition is approved.

If that were to happen, SSUK would enter compulsory liquidation within days, with a special manager appointed by the Official Receiver to run the operations.

Mr Gupta’s UK business operates steel plants at Sheffield and Rotherham in South Yorkshire, with a combined workforce of more than 1,400 people.

A connected pre-pack risks stiff opposition from Liberty Steel’s creditors, which include HM Revenue and Customs.

UBS, the investment bank which rescued Credit Suisse, a major backer of the collapsed finance firm Greensill Capital – which itself had a multibillion dollar exposure to Liberty Steel’s parent, GFG Alliance – is also a creditor of the company.

Grant Thornton, the accountancy firm handling Greensill’s administration, is also watching the legal proceedings with interest.

A Liberty Steel spokesperson said at the weekend: “Discussions are ongoing to finalise options for SSUK.

“We remain committed to identifying a solution that preserves electric arc furnace steelmaking in the UK–a critical national capability supporting strategic supply chains.

“We continue to work towards an outcome that best serves the interests of creditors, employees, and the broader community.”

Last month, The Guardian reported that Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, was monitoring events at Liberty Steel’s SSUK arm, and had not ruled out stepping in to provide support to the company.

Such a move is still thought to be an option, although it is not said to be imminent.

The Department for Business and Trade said: “We continue to closely monitor developments around Liberty Steel, including any public hearings, which are a matter for the company.

Other parts of Mr Gupta’s empire have been showing signs of financial stress for years.

Mr Gupta is said to have explored whether he could persuade the government to step in and support SSUK using the legislation enacted to take control of British Steel’s operations.

Whitehall insiders told Sky News in May that Mr Gupta’s overtures had been rebuffed.

He had previously sought government aid during the pandemic but that plea was also rejected by ministers.

SSUK, which also operates from a site in Bolton, Lancashire, makes highly engineered steel products for use in sectors such as aerospace, automotive and oil and gas.

The company said earlier this year that it had invested nearly £200m in the last five years into the UK steel industry, but had faced “significant challenges due to soaring energy costs and an over-reliance on cheap imports, negatively impacting the performance of all UK steel companies”.

Liberty Steel declined to comment on BlackRock’s support.