English water companies spent £16.6m over five years on legal action against regulators and campaigners over environmental breaches such as illegal sewage spills. Bill-payers’ money funded expensive external lawyers aiming to reduce liabilities for regulatory breaches instead of funding vital maintenance. Thames Water incurred £7,528,266.40 in such legal fees over five years, split across Ofwat enforcement (£5,002,664.26), Environment Agency investigations (£2,451,177.47) and Drinking Water Inspectorate fines (£74,424.67). Thames Water is debt-ridden and seeking relief from fines while facing record penalties, including a £104m Ofwat fine and an £18.2m dividend-rule fine.
As our water pipes have been left to crumble into disrepair with vital maintenance delayed, the water companies have wasted millions on expensive legal firms tasked with downplaying the extent of the sewage scandal. My constituents will be outraged by what our committee has uncovered. That money should be spent fixing our broken water infrastructure not trying to deny the scale of the problem.
Top of the list is Thames Water, which incurred 7,528,266.40 in such legal fees over the past five years 5,002,664.26 on enforcement of regulatory breaches by Ofwat, 2,451,177.47 contesting Environment Agency investigations and 74,424.67 contesting fines from the Drinking Water Inspectorate. The debt-ridden company is currently pleading with the government to be let off fines and costs to prevent it falling into special administration.
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