Water Companies: Licence Conditions - Question

Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 3:18 pm on 1 May 2024.

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Photo of Lord Sikka Lord Sikka Labour 3:18, 1 May 2024

My Lords, as I have previously pointed out in this House, water company accounts are not only massaged but cooked and roasted with abusive accounting practices. Ofwat and the Government have said that under certain circumstances they will block the payment of dividends, which presupposes that they know what the legally defined distributable profits of each company are. The Minister has just said that the Government have not got a clue; therefore, there is no way of knowing whether any of those dividend payments is actually lawful. Can the Minister explain why the Government announce policies when they do not have the basic data to implement them?