The Fire Brigades Union has joined calls for the government to bring water into public ownership to ensure clean and adequate water supply firefighters need to safely tackle fires.
The findings contained in the final report of the Westminster and the Welsh governments’ “Independent Water Commission” into the water sector chaired by Sir Jon Cunliffe (known as the Cunliffe Commission) will be presented soon, with Thames Water bosses quizzed by MPs on Tuesday.
The Cunliffe Commission was prevented from considering public ownership by the remit imposed by ministers, a decision heavily criticised by campaigners against sewage pollution. It is instead confined to providing comment on ‘regulation’.
A recent review by academics – the People’s Commission on Water – recommended public ownership as the best way to push down costs, limit pollution and drive investment.
In its recent report on the water sector, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs select committee concluded that “the current models of ownership in the water industry may not be bringing about the culture the sector needs” and called for “strong and significant reforms”.
Steve Wright, Fire Brigades Union general secretary said:
“The public has a right to expect that firefighters have the clean, high-pressure and high-flowing water supplies they need to extinguish fires. It’s preposterous that the UK, which has high rainfall, has to endure water shortages because of poor planning and investment.
“Private companies have siphoned off billions in profit while failing to adequately maintain water pipes, resulting in unreliable water pressure across England.
"In rural areas, communities need assurance that sewage-polluted water from open sources won’t be used to put out crop fires.
“The ongoing scandal of companies releasing sewage into rivers continues to put the public at risk. Firefighters, on the frontline of floods and countryside fires, should not have to face the additional health risks of polluted water.
“Our expensive, leaky and sewage ridden system is the direct result of a failed privatisation experiment. It’s time for the government to take water back into public hands. The water companies should have no entitlement to compensation.”
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Contact:
Links:
Cunliffe Commission: Terms of Reference: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-commission-on-the-water-sector-regulatory-system-terms-of-reference/independent-commission-on-the-water-sector-regulatory-system-terms-of-reference
Cunliffe Commission: Interim report 3 June 2025: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/683e0e938e9bdf1409b90ba6/Independent-Water-Commission-interim-report.pdf
People’s Commission on the Water Sector: Executive Summary
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qGOkZ6XGeRPaUaNZMPMyCobgUrAPRTP6/view
Findings of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee: Priorities for water sector reform (16 June 2025)
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5901/cmselect/cmenvfru/1001/report.html
