Policy update

Waterwise Policy Update - April 2012

This year has been an important one for water efficiency. We have worked closely with Ministers, policymakers and other stakeholders to seek to influence the water efficiency content in the Water White Paper. This has included developing policy ideas as well as sharing the evidence gained through our two flagship projects, the Waterwise Evidence Base for Large-scale Water Efficiency and Tap into Savings.

We have also taken this evidence and innovative policy proposals to government, regulators and other key players in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, with the 6th Saving Water in Scotland Network Roundtable taking place. And we have worked closely with Ofwat on their Sustainable Water programme, as they develop the framework for the next price determination.

This year Waterwise has again published a raft of policy papers and responded to numerous consultations both on water policy and more widely, and submitted written evidence to Select Committee enquiries. We have launched new partnership campaigns such as Fairness on Tap (to support greater metering, alongside water efficiency and social tariffs), with WWF and other NGOs, and an updated Blueprint for Water for England (with the Link group of Green NGOs) which was launched and welcomed by the Minister.

We have continued to work closely with water companies to influence policy, drawing on their practical experience as we develop policy proposals, and this year held our first Policy Seminar for water companies, which was a great success.

Finally, this year has been characterised by a great deal of working with stakeholders both within and beyond the water sector, in particular to influence energy efficiency policy and the development of the Green Deal retrofitting programme. Waterwise has organised cross-sector meetings, delegations to the relevant officials and multi-stakeholder responses to consultations. We can claim success – water efficiency is in the Green Deal!

We look forward to another important year as the processes for the next price determinations, and water legislation, develop across the UK.

Influencing the development of water policy and regulation

We worked closely with Defra, Ofwat and the Environment Agency to influence the development of the Water White Paper and Ofwat’s Sustainable Water programme of regulation, including in advance of the next price review for England and Wales. We submitted numerous ideas and policy papers, and held workshops with officials to demonstrate the evidence base for water efficiency, from Waterwise’s Evidence Base programme and the Waterwise-led Tap into Savings partnership.

Many of Waterwise’s long-advocated policy proposals were reflected in the White Paper – examples include the need for a business case with a longer-term horizon, recognition of the bias towards capex, the need for water efficiency beyond the areas currently defined as water-stressed, and a role for demand management in abstraction licensing reform.

In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland we held detailed policy discussions with governments and regulators to drive policy on water efficiency and underpin it with evidence. Waterwise co-convened (with Consumer Focus Scotland) the 6th Saving Water in Network Roundtable where stakeholders discussed the links between water and energy and projects to build on them.

Working with stakeholders to influence water policy and regulation

With WWF we launched Fairness on Tap, setting out the case for full metering in England, accompanied by water efficiency and social tariffs. We signed up social NGOs such as Age UK. As part of the Wildlife and Countryside Link coalition of NGOs, we published an updated version of the Blueprint for Water, which was launched and welcomed by the Minister. We worked with the gardening industry and water companies to make water restrictions more customer-friendly.

Working with stakeholders to influence wider policy

We kept the pressure up to ensure water efficiency would be included in energy efficiency policies such as the Green Deal. Building on the momentum of the Waterwise-convened group of stakeholders spanning the water and energy sectors, we organised delegations to meet officials and co-ordinated multi-stakeholder responses to consultations and calls for evidence. Ministers confirmed that water efficiency would feature in the Green Deal, and we then continued to work with the government on the detail.

Working with water companies on policy

This year we decided to build on the policy work we had undertaken with water companies since we first opened our doors, which has included joint approaches to Ministers and consultation responses. We held our first ever Policy Seminar for water companies, which was well-attended.

Waterwise Policy Priorities

Waterwise will continue to work with all governments, regulators and elected representatives in the UK, including at local level. Our priorities will continue to be:

• an economy and society where water efficiency is mainstreamed
• large-scale retrofits having a significant impact on the supply-demand balance in the water industry
• a regulatory framework which incentivises more demand management, including working with partners in other sectors such as energy
• a water meter in every home, supported by social tariffs to support vulnerable customers and advice and retrofitting help
• water efficiency included in energy efficiency retrofitting programmes and social housing standards
• water efficiency delivering its full potential in the green economy and adaptation to climate change

Waterwise will seek to further develop its activity on the Northern Irish policy and regulatory agenda in the coming year.