{ "meta": { "title": "Who owns England's water: debt, dividends and bills, and what public ownership would change", "standfirst": "On 29 September 2026 the Government said the Water Bill will remove the Water Act 1989 limits, between 1 and 3 per cent, on how many shares the Government can own in England's water and sewerage companies. The companies it would be buying into owe £76.3bn between them, up from £64.4bn in March 2023, and declared £4.8bn in dividends over the five years to 2024-25. Households in England and Wales pay an average of £639 this year. Scotland and Northern Ireland already run publicly owned water. This page sets out who owns each company, what they owe, what they pay out, and what the rest of the UK shows.", "basis": "The announcement removes a cap; it does not nationalise any company. The Government says the sector will still rely on private investment and that further detail will come in its 10 year plan. Net debt, gearing and dividends are Ofwat's figures for the regulated companies at 31 March 2025, the latest published. Gearing is net debt as a share of the regulatory capital value, the value Ofwat places on each company's assets for setting bills. Dividends are those declared by the regulated company in respect of each year, not necessarily paid out to the ultimate owners in that year. Average bills are Water UK's figures, the industry's own, based on Ofwat data.", "sourceNote": "Ofwat Monitoring financial resilience report 2024-25 (November 2025) and data workbooks; Ofwat PR24 final determinations (December 2024); CMA redeterminations summary (March 2026); Water UK average bills 2026-27 (January 2026) and 1990-91 to 2024-25 series; company annual reports 2025-26; Scottish Water annual report 2025/26; NI Water annual report 2024/25; GOV.UK release of 29 September 2026.", "netDebtBn": 76.3, "dividendsFiveYearBn": 4.8, "thamesGearing": 84.5, "avgBill": 639 }, "announcement": { "eyebrow": "What was announced", "heading": "The cap on government shareholdings in England's water companies is to go", "intro": "The Government's release of 29 September 2026 says the strengthened Water Bill will remove the limits set in the Water Act 1989 on government ownership of shares in the major water and sewerage companies in England, and the associated restriction on the Government acquiring shares in them. It gives the limits as between 1 and 3 per cent, varying by company, and says the change applies in England. It does not announce the purchase of any shares. Labour's conference material describes the same change as removing the Thatcher era ban on government ownership of water companies.", "points": [ { "term": "What changes", "text": "The limits on the Government's shareholding in each water and sewerage company in England, and the restriction on it buying shares, are removed." }, { "term": "Where", "text": "England. Scotland and Northern Ireland already have publicly owned water; Welsh Water is a not for profit company with no shareholders." }, { "term": "What does not", "text": "The Government says the sector will continue to rely on private investment. No company is nationalised by the change." }, { "term": "The law", "text": "Section 89 of the Water Act 1989 sets a target investment limit for the Government's shareholding in each company and bars it from acquiring shares once a limit is fixed. The release cites the Act but not the section." }, { "term": "Next", "text": "The Government says more detail will come in its 10 year plan for Britain, later this year, alongside the Water Bill announced in the King's Speech of May 2026." } ], "quote": { "text": "The Prime Minister announced today (29 September) that the strengthened Water Bill will remove the current limits on government ownership of shares in the major water and sewerage companies in England.", "source": "GOV.UK, Pathway to stronger public control of the water industry revealed (29 September 2026)", "url": "https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pathway-to-stronger-public-control-of-the-water-industry-revealed" } }, "owners": { "eyebrow": "Who owns them now", "heading": "Three companies are listed, one has no shareholders, and the rest belong to investment consortiums", "intro": "The ten water authorities of England and Wales were sold in 1989: in November that year 2,183 million shares in the ten companies were offered at 240p each, 100 per cent of their share capital. Today, in the Independent Water Commission's words, only three of the water and sewerage companies remain publicly listed, seven are privately owned and one, Welsh Water, has a not for profit model. The private owners are mainly pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and infrastructure investors, many from overseas. The table gives each company's owners as its own 2025-26 report states them.", "rows": [ { "company": "Thames Water", "kind": "Private consortium", "owners": "Kemble Water Holdings, owned by nine shareholders; largest OMERS 31.777%, USS 19.710%", "served": "16 million customers", "url": "https://www.thameswater.co.uk/media-library/2tad3w44/annual-report-2025-26.pdf" }, { "company": "Anglian Water", "kind": "Private consortium", "owners": "CPP Investments 32.9%, IFM 19.8%, ADIA 16.7%, Igneo 15.6%, Camulodunum 15.0%", "served": "around 7 million customers", "url": "https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66755bfa6f4f739e5b6828fb/6a8c0384f9660b238e1efad7_AWGL%20Accounts%202026%20-%20FINAL.pdf" }, { "company": "Yorkshire Water", "kind": "Private consortium", "owners": "Kelda Holdings: EQT 42%, GIC 42%, TCorp 16%; no ultimate controlling party", "served": "2.4m homes and 146,000 businesses", "url": "https://www.yorkshirewater.com/news-media/news-articles/2026/eqt-invests-in-yorkshire-water-parent-company-kelde/" }, { "company": "Southern Water", "kind": "Private consortium", "owners": "Majority owned by funds managed by Macquarie Asset Management", "served": "2.7 million water customers", "url": "https://www.southernwater.co.uk/media/ko2ctda0/southern-water-ar2026.pdf" }, { "company": "Northumbrian Water", "kind": "Private consortium", "owners": "Companies in the CK Hutchison group and KKR", "served": "North East, Essex and Suffolk", "url": "https://www.nwg.co.uk/globalassets/corporate/apr/2026/apr-final/nwgl-12-months-to-31-march-2026-final.pdf" }, { "company": "Wessex Water", "kind": "Foreign owned group", "owners": "YTL Corporation (Malaysia); ultimate parent Yeoh Tiong Lay & Sons Family Holdings", "served": "2.9 million customers", "url": "https://corporate.wessexwater.co.uk/media/zz0gskoe/annual-report-and-accounts-2025-26.pdf" }, { "company": "United Utilities", "kind": "Listed (FTSE 100)", "owners": "United Utilities Group PLC, traded on the London Stock Exchange", "served": "around 8 million people and businesses", "url": "https://www.unitedutilities.com/globalassets/documents/pdf/integrated-annual-report-2026/download" }, { "company": "Severn Trent", "kind": "Listed (FTSE 100)", "owners": "Severn Trent Plc, traded on the London Stock Exchange; largest holder Qatar Holding 11.58%", "served": "4.7 million households and businesses", "url": "https://www.severntrent.com/content/dam/stw-plc/fy-results-26/full-annual-report-and-accounts-2026.pdf" }, { "company": "South West Water", "kind": "Listed (FTSE 250 parent)", "owners": "Pennon Group plc, which also owns Bristol Water and SES Water", "served": "around 3.6 million customers", "url": "https://www.pennon-group.co.uk/sites/default/files/attachments/pdf/south-west-water-limited-31-march-2026.pdf" }, { "company": "Dwr Cymru Welsh Water", "kind": "Not for profit", "owners": "Glas Cymru, a company limited by guarantee with no shareholders", "served": "Wales and bordering areas", "url": "https://corporate.dwrcymru.com/" }, { "company": "Hafren Dyfrdwy", "kind": "Subsidiary of listed group", "owners": "Wholly owned by Severn Trent Plc", "served": "over 110,000 households and businesses", "url": "https://www.hdcymru.co.uk/content/dam/hdcymru/regulatory-documents/hd-ara-2025.pdf" } ] }, "debt": { "eyebrow": "What they owe", "heading": "£76.3bn of net debt, and 8 companies above Ofwat's 70 per cent gearing level", "intro": "Ofwat puts the companies' combined net debt at £76.3bn at 31 March 2025, up from £64.4bn in March 2023. Measured against the regulatory capital value of their assets, average gearing was 67.9 per cent, or 71.5 per cent taking the sector's debt and assets as a whole. Ofwat says gearing above 70 per cent is above the level that is consistent with maintaining long term financial resilience; 8 companies were above it, led by Thames Water at 84.5 per cent on £17.7bn of net debt. Thames, Southern and South East are in the most serious of Ofwat's monitoring categories.", "trend": { "ariaLabel": "Net debt of the water companies of England and Wales, 31 March", "note": "Net debt of the 16 regulated water companies excluding Tideway, £bn, 31 March each year. Source: Ofwat Monitoring financial resilience data workbooks (each year from the latest workbook that reports it).", "rows": [ { "label": "March 2023", "display": "£64.4bn", "value": 64.38 }, { "label": "March 2024", "display": "£69.6bn", "value": 69.6 }, { "label": "March 2025", "display": "£76.3bn", "value": 76.28 } ] }, "bars": { "ariaLabel": "Regulatory gearing by water company, 31 March 2025", "note": "Net debt as a percentage of regulatory capital value, 31 March 2025. Red: above Ofwat's 70 per cent level. Source: Ofwat Monitoring financial resilience 2024-25.", "rows": [ { "label": "Thames Water", "display": "84.5%", "value": 84.5, "tone": "high" }, { "label": "Affinity Water", "display": "81.0%", "value": 81.0, "tone": "high" }, { "label": "Southern Water", "display": "77.0%", "value": 77.0, "tone": "high" }, { "label": "South East Water", "display": "75.2%", "value": 75.2, "tone": "high" }, { "label": "Northumbrian Water", "display": "72.4%", "value": 72.4, "tone": "high" }, { "label": "Wessex Water", "display": "71.9%", "value": 71.9, "tone": "high" }, { "label": "Anglian Water", "display": "71.8%", "value": 71.8, "tone": "high" }, { "label": "Yorkshire Water", "display": "70.3%", "value": 70.3, "tone": "high" }, { "label": "South Staffs Water", "display": "66.6%", "value": 66.6, "tone": "ok" }, { "label": "United Utilities", "display": "65.8%", "value": 65.8, "tone": "ok" }, { "label": "South West Water", "display": "64.2%", "value": 64.2, "tone": "ok" }, { "label": "Dwr Cymru Welsh Water", "display": "62.8%", "value": 62.8, "tone": "ok" }, { "label": "Hafren Dyfrdwy", "display": "62.8%", "value": 62.8, "tone": "ok" }, { "label": "Severn Trent", "display": "62.7%", "value": 62.7, "tone": "ok" }, { "label": "SES Water", "display": "59.8%", "value": 59.8, "tone": "ok" }, { "label": "Portsmouth Water", "display": "38.1%", "value": 38.1, "tone": "ok" } ] }, "table": [ { "company": "Thames Water", "netDebt": 17745, "rcv": 21008, "gearing": 84.5, "rating": "Caa3 Stable", "category": "Action Required and Active Engagement" }, { "company": "Affinity Water", "netDebt": 1556, "rcv": 1920, "gearing": 81.0, "rating": "BBB+ Negative", "category": "Elevated and Enhanced Monitoring" }, { "company": "Southern Water", "netDebt": 5733, "rcv": 7450, "gearing": 77.0, "rating": "Ba1 Under Review", "category": "Action Required and Active Engagement" }, { "company": "South East Water", "netDebt": 1365, "rcv": 1816, "gearing": 75.2, "rating": "BBB- Watch Negative", "category": "Action Required and Active Engagement" }, { "company": "Northumbrian Water", "netDebt": 4203, "rcv": 5805, "gearing": 72.4, "rating": "BBB+/Baa1 Negative", "category": "Elevated and Enhanced Monitoring" }, { "company": "Wessex Water", "netDebt": 3285, "rcv": 4568, "gearing": 71.9, "rating": "BBB+/Baa1 Negative", "category": "Elevated and Enhanced Monitoring" }, { "company": "Anglian Water", "netDebt": 8053, "rcv": 11220, "gearing": 71.8, "rating": "BBB Stable", "category": "Elevated and Enhanced Monitoring" }, { "company": "Yorkshire Water", "netDebt": 6663, "rcv": 9475, "gearing": 70.3, "rating": "Baa2 Stable", "category": "Elevated and Enhanced Monitoring" }, { "company": "South Staffs Water", "netDebt": 387, "rcv": 581, "gearing": 66.6, "rating": "Baa2 Stable", "category": "Standard and Routine Monitoring" }, { "company": "United Utilities", "netDebt": 9889, "rcv": 15020, "gearing": 65.8, "rating": "BBB+/Baa1 Stable", "category": "Standard and Routine Monitoring" }, { "company": "South West Water", "netDebt": 3561, "rcv": 5548, "gearing": 64.2, "rating": "Baa1 Negative", "category": "Standard and Routine Monitoring" }, { "company": "Dwr Cymru Welsh Water", "netDebt": 4853, "rcv": 7723, "gearing": 62.8, "rating": "BBB+ Negative", "category": "Standard and Routine Monitoring" }, { "company": "Hafren Dyfrdwy", "netDebt": 87, "rcv": 139, "gearing": 62.8, "rating": "BBB+ Stable", "category": "Standard and Routine Monitoring" }, { "company": "Severn Trent", "netDebt": 8473, "rcv": 13518, "gearing": 62.7, "rating": "BBB+/Baa1 Stable", "category": "Standard and Routine Monitoring" }, { "company": "SES Water", "netDebt": 220, "rcv": 368, "gearing": 59.8, "rating": "Baa1 Negative", "category": "Standard and Routine Monitoring" }, { "company": "Portsmouth Water", "netDebt": 208, "rcv": 547, "gearing": 38.1, "rating": "Baa2 Stable", "category": "Elevated and Enhanced Monitoring" } ] }, "dividends": { "eyebrow": "What they pay out", "heading": "£4.8bn in dividends over five years. In 2024-25, Ofwat says nine companies declared none", "intro": "The regulated companies declared £645m in dividends for 2024-25, down from £1.0bn the year before and a recent high of £1.4bn in 2022-23. Ofwat reports that nine companies did not declare a dividend for 2024-25 and that Thames, Southern and South East are in cash lock up under their licences and cannot pay dividends without its consent. The two listed groups paid the most: United Utilities £197m and Severn Trent £192m. A dividend from the regulated company is not always the same as money reaching the ultimate owners, since holding companies above it may also carry debt.", "trend": { "ariaLabel": "Dividends declared by the regulated water companies, by year", "note": "Dividends declared by the regulated companies (appointee level), £m, by year. Source: Ofwat Monitoring financial resilience data workbooks.", "rows": [ { "label": "2020-21", "display": "£464m", "value": 463.8 }, { "label": "2021-22", "display": "£1,204m", "value": 1204.4 }, { "label": "2022-23", "display": "£1,447m", "value": 1446.5 }, { "label": "2023-24", "display": "£1,036m", "value": 1036.0 }, { "label": "2024-25", "display": "£645m", "value": 645.2 } ] }, "bars": { "ariaLabel": "Dividends declared by company, five years to 2024-25", "note": "Total dividends declared by each regulated company, 2020-21 to 2024-25, £m. Source: Ofwat Monitoring financial resilience data workbooks.", "rows": [ { "label": "United Utilities", "display": "£1,179m", "value": 1179.4 }, { "label": "Severn Trent", "display": "£1,134m", "value": 1134.0 }, { "label": "Northumbrian Water", "display": "£558m", "value": 557.5 }, { "label": "Anglian Water", "display": "£434m", "value": 433.8 }, { "label": "Wessex Water", "display": "£317m", "value": 317.1 }, { "label": "Thames Water", "display": "£311m", "value": 311.0 }, { "label": "Yorkshire Water", "display": "£297m", "value": 296.7 }, { "label": "South East Water", "display": "£167m", "value": 167.3 }, { "label": "South West Water", "display": "£45m", "value": 45.0 }, { "label": "South Staffs Water", "display": "£36m", "value": 36.4 }, { "label": "SES Water", "display": "£17m", "value": 16.5 }, { "label": "Portsmouth Water", "display": "£15m", "value": 15.2 }, { "label": "Southern Water", "display": "£4m", "value": 4.0 }, { "label": "Affinity Water", "display": "£1m", "value": 1.0 }, { "label": "Dwr Cymru Welsh Water", "display": "£0m", "value": 0.0 }, { "label": "Hafren Dyfrdwy", "display": "£0m", "value": 0.0 } ] } }, "bills": { "eyebrow": "What households pay", "heading": "£639 on average this year, after a 26 per cent rise the year before", "intro": "Water UK, the industry body, puts the average household water and sewerage bill in England and Wales at £639 for 2026-27, up £33 or 5.4 per cent, after a rise of £123 or 26 per cent the year before from £480. Southern's customers pay the most of the water and sewerage companies and Northumbrian's the least. The rises follow Ofwat's 2024 price review, which allowed £104bn of spending from 2025 to 2030 and a rise in indicative bills of £157 over the five years before inflation. Over the longer run, Water UK's series, based on Ofwat data, shows the average bill in November 2024 prices at £379 in 1990-91, peaking at £573 in 2009-10 and back to £480 in 2024-25 before the latest rises.", "bars": { "ariaLabel": "Average household water and sewerage bill by company, England and Wales, 2026-27", "note": "Average household bill for water and sewerage, £, 2026-27, as forecast by Water UK (January 2026). Water only companies are not shown because their customers also pay a separate sewerage company.", "rows": [ { "label": "Southern Water", "display": "£759 (+£55)", "value": 759 }, { "label": "South West Water", "display": "£740 (+£39)", "value": 740 }, { "label": "Wessex Water", "display": "£695 (+£17)", "value": 695 }, { "label": "Dwr Cymru (Welsh Water)", "display": "£683 (+£31)", "value": 683 }, { "label": "Anglian Water", "display": "£674 (+£44)", "value": 674 }, { "label": "United Utilities", "display": "£660 (+£57)", "value": 660 }, { "label": "Thames Water", "display": "£658 (+£3)", "value": 658 }, { "label": "Yorkshire Water", "display": "£636 (+£34)", "value": 636 }, { "label": "Hafren Dyfrdwy", "display": "£635 (+£54)", "value": 635 }, { "label": "Severn Trent Water", "display": "£587 (+£52)", "value": 587 }, { "label": "Northumbrian Water", "display": "£535 (+£31)", "value": 535 } ] }, "trend": { "ariaLabel": "Average household water bill in England and Wales in 2024 prices, 1990-91 to 2024-25", "note": "Average household bill, £ in November 2024 prices (CPIH from 2020, RPI before). Source: Water UK, England and Wales average water bills dataset (January 2025), based on Ofwat data.", "rows": [ { "label": "1990-91", "display": "£379", "value": 379.0 }, { "label": "1995-96", "display": "£506", "value": 506.0 }, { "label": "2000-01", "display": "£464", "value": 464.0 }, { "label": "2005-06", "display": "£517", "value": 517.0 }, { "label": "2009-10", "display": "£573", "value": 573.0 }, { "label": "2010-11", "display": "£544", "value": 544.0 }, { "label": "2015-16", "display": "£539", "value": 539.0 }, { "label": "2020-21", "display": "£506", "value": 506.0 }, { "label": "2024-25", "display": "£480", "value": 480.0 } ] } }, "thames": { "eyebrow": "The largest company", "heading": "Thames Water: 84.5 per cent geared and drawing on a £3bn creditor facility", "intro": "Thames Water serves 16 million customers and carries £17.7bn of net debt, the most of any company. Ofwat has it in its Turnaround Oversight Regime and its lowest credit rating is Caa3. On 29 September 2026 the company said it had drawn £2.48bn of a £3bn super senior facility from its creditors and was seeking their consent to draw a further £170m in October while it works towards what it calls a market led solution. A consortium of its creditors, London and Valley Water, has made a non binding recapitalisation proposal. On 18 September the Commons Environment Committee urged the Government to reject it and either put the company into special administration or legislate to take control of its finances. As of 30 September 2026 it is not in special administration." }, "elsewhere": { "eyebrow": "Publicly owned water in the UK", "heading": "Scotland and Northern Ireland already own their water. Neither pays dividends", "intro": "Scottish Water is a public corporation accountable to Scottish Ministers. It pays no dividends, borrows from the Scottish Government, whose loans totalled £5.0bn at 31 March 2026, and invested a record £1.13bn in 2025/26. Its average household charge for 2026-27 is £532, collected with council tax and varying by band. NI Water is a government owned company whose sole shareholder is the Department for Infrastructure. Households in Northern Ireland pay no direct water charge: the department paid a subsidy of £424.1m in 2024/25 instead, and NI Water says it depends on government subsidy for 73 per cent of its revenue. In Wales, Welsh Water is owned by Glas Cymru, which has no shareholders and reinvests its surpluses. These are different models, not a controlled comparison: the costs of supply, the investment backlog and what counts as the bill all differ.", "cards": [ { "v": "£639", "l": "average bill, England and Wales, 2026-27 (Water UK)" }, { "v": "£532", "l": "average charge, Scottish Water, 2026-27" }, { "v": "£0", "l": "direct household charge, Northern Ireland" }, { "v": "£424.1m", "l": "NI Water subsidy from government, 2024/25" } ] }, "questions": { "eyebrow": "Questions this raises", "heading": "What the figures do not settle", "items": [ { "q": "Is the Government nationalising the water companies?", "a": "Not by this change. It removes the legal limits on how many shares the Government can hold, which the Government says gives it flexibility to consider a wide range of interventions, including on ownership models. No purchase of shares has been announced, and the release says the sector will continue to rely on private investment." }, { "q": "What would it cost to buy them?", "a": "No official figure exists. The regulatory capital value of the 16 companies' assets was £106.7bn at March 2025 and their net debt £76.3bn, but neither is a price: a purchase would depend on how equity and debt were valued and treated, and none of that has been set out." }, { "q": "Would public ownership lower bills?", "a": "The figures here cannot answer that. Scotland's average charge is lower than England and Wales's average bill, and Northern Ireland's households pay nothing directly, but costs of supply, investment needs, borrowing costs and how each system is paid for differ. The largest drivers of recent bill rises are the spending Ofwat allowed for 2025 to 2030." }, { "q": "Does this affect Wales?", "a": "The Government says the change applies in England. Welsh Water is already owned by a company with no shareholders; Hafren Dyfrdwy, in north east Wales, is owned by Severn Trent." }, { "q": "When will the figures change?", "a": "Ofwat's Monitoring financial resilience report for 2025-26 is due around late 2026, and Water UK announces 2027-28 bills in early 2027. Thames Water's creditor vote is on 13 October 2026. This page will be updated as each lands." } ] }, "sources": [ { "name": "GOV.UK, Pathway to stronger public control of the water industry revealed (29 September 2026)", "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0", "url": "https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pathway-to-stronger-public-control-of-the-water-industry-revealed" }, { "name": "Water Act 1989, section 89 (legislation.gov.uk)", "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0", "url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1989/15/section/89" }, { "name": "Hansard, written answer on water privatisation, 22 November 1989", "licence": "Open Parliament Licence", "url": "https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written_answers/1989/nov/22/water-privatisation" }, { "name": "Ofwat, Monitoring financial resilience report 2024-25 and data workbooks 2016-17 to 2024-25", "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0", "url": "https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/publication/monitoring-financial-resilience-report-2024-25/" }, { "name": "Ofwat, PR24 final determinations (December 2024)", "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0", "url": "https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/regulated-companies/price-review/2024-price-review/final-determinations/" }, { "name": "CMA, Water PR24 price redeterminations: summary of final determinations (10 March 2026)", "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0", "url": "https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/water-pr24-price-determinations" }, { "name": "Water UK, Annual average bill changes 2026-27 (January 2026)", "licence": "Water UK, attributed", "url": "https://www.water.org.uk/annual-average-bill-changes-2026-27" }, { "name": "Water UK, England and Wales average water bills 1989 to 2025 (January 2025)", "licence": "Water UK, attributed", "url": "https://www.water.org.uk/news-views-publications/views/real-terms-story-historic-water-bills" }, { "name": "Company annual reports and accounts 2025-26 (Thames, Anglian, Southern, Northumbrian, Wessex, United Utilities, Severn Trent, South West Water, Glas Cymru) and Yorkshire Water's March 2026 ownership announcement", "licence": "Company publications, quoted", "url": "https://www.thameswater.co.uk/media-library/2tad3w44/annual-report-2025-26.pdf" }, { "name": "Thames Water, Fifteenth consent requests (29 September 2026)", "licence": "Company publication, quoted", "url": "https://www.thameswater.co.uk/news/2026/sep/twul-fifteenth-consent-requests" }, { "name": "House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, press notice on Thames Water (18 September 2026)", "licence": "Open Parliament Licence", "url": "https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/52/environment-food-and-rural-affairs-committee/news/217944/reject-thames-water-investors-and-ensure-new-regulation-prevents-repeat-of-chaotic-saga-mps-tell-government/" }, { "name": "Independent Water Commission, Final report (21 July 2025)", "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0", "url": "https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/687dfcc4312ee8a5f0806be6/Independent_Water_Commission_-_Final_Report_-_21_July.pdf" }, { "name": "Scottish Water, Annual report and accounts 2025/26 and 2026-27 charges", "licence": "Scottish Water, attributed", "url": "https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/-/media/scottishwater/document-hub/key-publications/annual-reports/scottish-water-annual-report--accounts-2025-to-2026-performance-and-prospects.pdf" }, { "name": "Scottish Government, Water industry governance", "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0", "url": "https://www.gov.scot/policies/water/water-industry-governance/" }, { "name": "NI Water, Annual report 2024/25 and Who we are", "licence": "NI Water, attributed", "url": "https://www.niwater.com/annual-report/" } ], "caveats": [ "Ownership is as each company's 2025-26 report states it. Holdings change: Yorkshire's shares are from its March 2026 announcement, and Ofwat is consulting on the ultimate controller of Southern Water.", "Ofwat's report counts nine companies that declared no dividend for 2024-25; its data workbook, with South West and Bristol combined, shows eight of the 16 companies listed here at zero.", "Ofwat's financial figures are for the regulated companies at 31 March 2025, excluding Tideway. South West Water includes Bristol. Earlier years are taken from the most recent workbook that reports each year and include restatements.", "Average gearing of 67.9 per cent is Ofwat's simple average of company ratios; total net debt over total regulatory capital value gives a higher sector figure, shown separately.", "Dividends are those declared by the regulated company for each year, not necessarily cash paid in that year, and not the same as dividends paid by holding companies to their investors.", "Average bills are Water UK's forecasts and series, not Ofwat outturn. Water UK restated its 2025-26 base between editions, so the two years' changes are quoted as each edition gives them and not chained.", "Scotland's £532 is Scottish Water's stated average annual charge; it does not say which council tax band or method it reflects. Northern Ireland's subsidy covers charges deferred for domestic customers and is not a per household figure.", "Section 89 of the Water Act 1989 is identified here from the Act; the Government's release names the Act without citing a section." ] }