Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs written question – answered at on 6 January 2026.
Andrew Slaughter
Chair, Justice Committee, Chair, Justice Committee
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to release the white paper on water reform in January 2026.
Emma Hardy
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government will respond to the Independent Water Commission’s final recommendations in full via a white paper shortly and a new water reform bill, bringing forward root and branch reform to secure better outcomes for customers, investors and the environment and restore trust and accountability.
Together with the building blocks the Government has already put in place, this will mark the most fundamental reset to our water system in a generation. A new partnership between Government, the sector, investors and communities will deliver the change the public expects.
Yes1 person thinks so
No1 person thinks not
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Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
A document issued by the Government laying out its policy, or proposed policy, on a topic of current concern.Although a white paper may occasion consultation as to the details of new legislation, it does signify a clear intention on the part of a government to pass new law. This is a contrast with green papers, which are issued less frequently, are more open-ended and may merely propose a strategy to be implemented in the details of other legislation.
More from wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_paper
