Water UK response to the 2021 Autumn Budget

Responding to the 2021 Autumn Budget announcement, a Water UK spokesperson, said:

“We hope the Chancellor’s promise of an economy ‘fit for a new age of optimism’ and an ‘infrastructure revolution’ is backed up by policy action. A thriving economy must be built on the foundation of robust, climate-resilient infrastructure. For the water industry this means prioritising new water supply infrastructure and the updating of our aging systems, such as eliminating harm from storm overflows as set out in our 21^st Century Rivers report. This would mean that the 2020s are remembered as the decade of delivery rather than another missed opportunity. Acting now is far more cost-effective than doing so further down the line.

"The industry is keen to play its part as we build back better from the pandemic, but we must be enabled to do so by Government and Regulators in order to meet net zero targets, ensure that water supplies are resilient to climate change, and achieve our ambitious environment goals.”