Recommendation 28

Defra told us that the Commission’s interim report says that the sector needs a reset in its strategic planning, legislative framework, regulatory framework, water company structures, governance, assets and resilience.94 Defra told us that it fully accepted the contents of the interim report, and had big changes to make.95 In 2024, Moody’s cited the uncertainty associated with the government review of the sector as one of the reasons it downgraded the credit-worthiness of the whole sector.96