Warm words and an empty plan won’t improve our water

The government has announced its new Plan for Water which is intended to pave the way for improvements in the country’s water quality.

The plan completely fails to recognise pay problems within the Environment Agency and other regulators, and the recruitment and skills shortage crisis that is causing. That crisis has a huge knock-on effect on our ability to adequately regulate.

Mike Clancy, General Secretary of Prospect trade union, said:

“The Government’s Plan for Water makes a big deal of beefing up the power of regulators but without adequate pay and funding to back it up it will do nothing to improve the state of our waterways.

“If you want to reverse the startling decline in water quality across the whole country you need a fully funded motivated regulator – warm words and an empty plan don’t cut it.

“The Environment Agency and other regulators have been at the back of the queue for pay rises for more than a decade and we are losing vital skilled and experienced staff because they simply cannot afford to continue doing their jobs. That’s why Prospect members are taking industrial action.”