Haringey Council Declares No Confidence in Thames Water

Haringey Council has declared no confidence in Thames Water, citing the company's poor performance, high bills, and environmental breaches that include sewage spills. The council says that Thames Water's failure to properly address leaks, resulting in road closures, and the slow pace of repairs are problematic for Haringey residents.

The motion, proposed by Councillor Dawn Barnes and seconded by Councillor Pippa Connor, Chair of the Adults and Health Scrutiny Panel, was debated at the Full Council meeting on Monday, 21 July 2025. Councillors expressed concerns over Thames Water's debt, leaks, and executive bonuses.

The motion noted that Thames Water is the worst performing water company according to the Consumer Council for Water. It also highlighted the £123 million in fines levied by Ofwat in May 2025, including £104 million for environmental breaches involving sewage spills and £18 million for paying out unjustified dividends.

The council also noted that Thames Water has been granted permission to increase customer bills by 35% by 2030, despite its poor performance, and that the company loses approximately one quarter of its drinking water through leaks in its own system.

The motion stated that Adrian Montague, Thames Water's Chairman, told the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs Select Committee that we have a bonus scheme to protect our most precious resource, which is the senior management team.

As a result, the council resolved to:

• Declare that it has no confidence in Thames Water.
• Write to the government outlining the impact Thames Water's low performance and high bills are having on Haringey residents, and requesting that Thames Water is put into Special Administration in order to write down its unsustainable debts and protect billpayers. The meeting information suggests that Haringey Council's primary action beyond expressing no confidence is to write to the government requesting that Thames Water be put into Special Administration.
• Request that government scraps the private ownership model with a single operator per area for water companies, replacing it with either public or mutual companies, and including customers, employees and environmental experts on boards. The council is requesting that the government replace the private ownership model with either public or mutual companies, and including customers, employees and environmental experts on boards.