‘A New Vision for Water’: UK Government Sets New Direction for the Water Industry

This week, the UK Government released a new White Paper, ‘A New Vision for Water’, that sets out a comprehensive action plan to reform the water sector, addressing long-standing and fragmented regulation with a more efficient and integrated approach that better delivers outcomes for water security, the environment, customers and investors.

This is the most significant reset of the water sector since privatisation and a promising framework for changes we in the industry have been calling for.

CEO Stephen Slessor

Commenting on the UK Government’s White Paper proposals for the water sector this week, CEO Stephen Slessor continued:

“Three elements initially stand out to me:

• The proposals mark a shift towards a joined-up system that considers regulation, planning and investment holistically compared to the currently fragmented ecosystem, which has shown to be lacking. Oversight by a single and integrated regulator is long overdue, but leadership and accountability will be key to its effectiveness.
• The long-term outlook, with high-level funding needs over 25 years, sets clear directions for strategic planning and should help restore confidence in both customers and investors by getting us out of the start-stop mentality that’s plagued delivery since AMP3.
• Much of what comes next will rest on the proposed Transition Plan. Helping companies and investors understand the roadmap of how these changes will be implemented will be critical for ensuring the government’s proposals don’t stall.

Overall, we welcome this substantial step in what we hope will help streamline governance and accelerate the delivery of infrastructure upgrades to help tackle the intensifying environmental, operational and customer pressures on the UK water industry.”

RSE welcomes the direction outlined in ‘A New Vision for Water’, which represents a constructive move towards streamlined governance and the accelerated implementation of critical infrastructure improvements across the UK water industry.

A New Vision
for Water

Access the UK Government’s ‘A New Vision for Water’ White Paper.

Download White Paper

*Contains public sector information from “A New Vision for Water” (© Crown copyright 2026), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0

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