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Latest developer services standards results
The latest figures on the levels of performance achieved by English and Welsh water companies in delivering developer services have been published by Water UK.
The figures, for the quarter ending June 2017, show overall performance for the period maintains a high standard with overall target measures for water supply being met at 97% and those for sewerage at 99%.
The figures report against an expanded and revised number of standards: the industry is now reporting on 45 activities, compared with 37 in previous quarters.
The expanded set of metrics include new ones relating to companies' performance on relocating existing water mains to facilitate new development. Following collaboration with third party providers, they also include ones relating to services delivered to these third parties who provide water mains infrastructure for new developments.
We are also publishing the results of an extensive independent audit into companies’ reporting of developer services performance. This has been undertaken by the global engineering and consulting firm CH2M and is based on companies' reporting prior to April.
Richard Warneford, Wastewater Director at Northumbrian Water and chair of Water UK's Infrastructure Policy Group, said:
"The independent audit has conducted a thorough review of all of the developer service measures and how consistently they have been applied by all of the companies. We took a decision to move the publication of the report to July to ensure there was sufficient time for thorough consistency checking of the metrics under review.
"It is encouraging to see high levels of compliance across most metrics although, as might be expected in the first such audit, some non-compliances with the reporting regime were identified.
"Most of these reflect differing interpretations of the reporting definitions which could lead to inconsistencies in reported levels of activity and hence on levels of performance. However, it is encouraging that CH2M considers these are unlikely to be significant.
"CH2M has highlighted that non-compliance with a reporting definition is not always a reflection of poor performance because a company may be providing a higher level of service than that set by the industry-wide target standard.
“The industry will now be looking to implement the findings of the report. In some cases, companies have already embraced improvements identified in the report."
Water UK intends to take this opportunity to consider with stakeholders how the current regime can be improved, particularly in the light of the likely adoption by Ofwat of a qualitative assessment of companies' performance in this area of activity.
Our members are committed to improving further the services they offer to developers so that the industry continues to play its part in supporting both the English and Welsh Governments' growth agendas.
Latest quarterly performance figures
Water UK Communications
0207 344 1805
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