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Citizens Advice responds to the Water Sector Reform White Paper 2026

Responding to the Water Sector Reform White Paper 2026, Dame Clare Moriarty, Chief Executive at Citizens Advice, said:

“The industry has a long way to go, but we’re glad to see the UK government’s pledge to tackle this head on and deliver a more sustainable sector focused on meeting people's needs. 

“Across the country customers are getting a raw deal from water companies’ chronic mismanagement. Yet soaring water costs are forcing some to ration supplies in a desperate bid to avoid falling behind on bills. 

“It's good to see a strong emphasis on improving customer experience in the White Paper. Crucial to delivering this will be establishing a new Water Ombudsman, to help resolve complaints and work alongside a powerful and independent statutory advocate, the role Citizens Advice currently plays in the energy sector.”

Additional data: 

  • In 2025, Citizens Advice has supported over 100,000 people with a water issue. 

  • This includes 44,000 people coming to us about water debts and 68,000 coming to us about other issues with water (including social tariffs, priority services register, metering and billing).

  • Clients who come to us about water report an average of five different problems. 

  • 75% of those with water issues also report energy-related struggles.

  • Citizens Advice is the statutory advice provider and advocate in the energy sector and works closely with and complements the roles played by the Energy Ombudsman and regulator Ofgem.

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Notes to editors:

  1. Citizens Advice is made up of the national charity Citizens Advice; the network of independent local Citizens Advice charities across England and Wales; the Citizens Advice consumer service; and the Witness Service.

  2. The Citizens Advice brand tracker data gives Citizens Advice a brand awareness of 91% on average, based on the last twelve months up to December 2025.

  3. Our network of charities offers impartial advice online, over the phone, and in person, for free. 

  4. Citizens Advice helped 2.71 million people face to face, over the phone, by email and webchat in 2024-25. And we had 44 million visits to our website. For full service statistics see our monthly publication Advice trends.

  5. Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 19,500 trained volunteers, working at over 1,900 locations across England and Wales.

  6. Citizens Advice is the statutory consumer advocate for the postal market. We provide supplier performance information to consumers and policy analysis to decision makers. 

  7. You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or 0808 223 1144 for Welsh language speakers.