Water industry regulator Ofwat is in the process of developing a new strategy as it reviews its vision and strategic priorities for regulating the water sector in England and Wales.
The new strategy will replace ‘Delivering sustainable water – Ofwat’s strategy’, which was published in March 2010.
As part of the strategy development process, Ofwat has been talking to a wide range of stakeholders and partners, including an event on 4 June 2014 where stakeholders could share their views with both the regulator and with each other. Cathryn Ross, Ofwat Chief Executive, set out a draft vision statement for the sector and Ofwat.
Feedback from group discussions at the event demonstrated broad acceptance of the draft vision for the sector and for Ofwat.
The main themes that emerged from the group discussions were:
- outcomes to be monitored and measured
- trust and confidence to be defined and embedded
- a clear vision and strategic priorities – with resources and a business model to deliver these
- diversity to be encouraged and regulation to evolve in response to vision and strategy
- relevant information to enable Ofwat to make informed decisions
- partnerships across industry and different sectors with credible, continuous and open stakeholder engagement
- fairness for all stakeholders to work together to create win–win opportunities and to enable the companies and Ofwat to build an‘adult–adult’ relationship
In her closing remarks at the event, Sonia Brown, Ofwat’s Chief Regulation Officer, acknowledged that while the alignment between long-term and short-term plans will be challenging, Ofwat wanted to continue to put the customer at the heart of its work.
Ofwat plans to continue to talk with stakeholders over the next few months and will publish its final vision in the autumn. The regulator is also inviting broader stakeholder comment on its draft vision for the sector - in particular, responses to the following questions.
- Do you agree with the draft vision for the sector and Ofwat?
- Is there anything we could do to improve the draft vision for the sector and Ofwat?
- What do you think Ofwat needs to do differently to deliver this vision?
- What would be the implications for you with this vision?
- How can we engage better with you to develop the vision and our priorities?
Responses should be sent to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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