Sometimes it is very interesting to watch the proceedings of Parliament on their TV channel, to observe the workings of government in the UK and to see people being questioned on a variety of topics. OnTuesday October 11th, I took the time to watch the Industry and Regulators Committee Inquiry into the work of Ofwat, with two witnesses; Sir James Bevan, CEO of the Environment Agency, and Alan Lovell, Chair of the Environment Agency. If you are interested in environmental regulation in the UK, these sessions are very interesting. This one, in particular, focussed on the regulation of the water companies, and Lord Blackwell asked a very pertinent question about the knowledge of pollution from storm overflows 15 years ago, and the missed opportunity to step-in and to reduce that pollution all those years ago. Sir James’ response was rather unsatisfactory, blaming Victorian engineering, climate change, population growth and members of the public for complaining! In truth, the Agency should have noticed the increasing pollution from overflows at least 15 years ago, and they should have reviewed the Permits and insisted on improvements then. If you are interested in environment protection, it is worth keeping an eye out for these Committee Meetings and taking the time to watch them. You can find the ‘events guide’ for each week online here: https://www.parliamentlive.tv/Guide
