The All Party Parliamentary Water Group

The All Party Parliamentary Water Group brings together Parliamentarians and stakeholders from across the UK water sector to discuss the issues impacting the sector.

About the Group

APPWG fringe meeting The All Party Parliamentary Water Group provides a forum for Parliamentarians and interested stakeholders to monitor government and regulatory policy and maintain a dialogue with government, Parliament, the water sector and a wide range of other interested groups. The Group has been running for nearly 10 years and is one of the most active All Party Groups in Parliament, holding regular meetings throughout the year on a wide range of topics.

The Group Officers

The Group is led by a cross-party team of officers, headed by our Group co-chairs, Angela Smith MP and Baroness McIntosh of Pickering.

Angela Smith MP, Co-Chair

Angela Smith was Shadow Water Minister from April 2014 to September 2015, having previously served as Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Commons, and is now a leading member of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee. She had been the Labour MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge (formerly Sheffield, Hillsborough) since May 2005 and was one of the party’s leading voices on environmental and conservation issues. In February 2019 Angela left the Labour Party to sit as an Independent MP.

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering, Co-Chair

Anne McIntosh was elevated to the peerage as Baroness McIntosh of Pickering in October 2015 following a long career as first an MEP, from 1989 to 1999, and then as Conservative MP for Thirsk and Malton (formerly Vale of York) from 1997 to 2015. She has a huge range of experience and expertise in environmental policy having served as Shadow Environment Minister from 2007 to 2010 and as Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee from 2010 to 2015.

Neil Parish MP, Vice Chair

Neil Parish is a former MEP who was elected as the Conservative MP for Tiverton and Honiton at the 2010 general election. During his career in the European Parliament, from 1999 to 2009, he sat on the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development. He has served as Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee since 2015, having been re-elected following the 2017 general election.

The Earl of Selborne, Vice Chair

The Earl of Selborne is a respected ecological expert and former Chair of the Science and Technology Select Committee in the House of Lords. He has been a Peer since 1971 and has served in a wide range of senior roles including as President of the Royal Agricultural Society from 1987 to 1988, as President of the Royal Geographical Society from 1997 to 2000 and as a Patron of the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management.

The future of the water sector

Our first meeting of the Group’s 2019 programme of activity follows the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s report into ‘The regulation of the water industry’, published in October 2018, and the recent Westminster Hall debate on the ‘Future of the water industry in England and Wales’.

Panellists and attendees will have the opportunity to discuss the regulation of the sector, different ownership models, and how water companies are responding to the current challenges.

We are delighted that the meeting will hear from speakers, including:

John Russell, Senior Director, Strategy and Planning, Ofwat
Daniel Johns, Head of Public Affairs, Anglian Water Services
Paul Horton, CEO, Future Water Association
Caroline Wadsworth, Water Innovation Hub Manager, Twenty65

Date: 27 March 2019

Time: 5.00 – 6.30 pm

Venue: Committee Room 11 (please note room change), House of Commons

Register to attend

Group materials

February 2018 – Water Infrastructure and the National Policy Statement for Water Resources

March 2018 – Better Water Usage and the 25 Year Environment Plan

April 2018 – The introduction of retail competition: one year on

June 2018 – The Adoption of Sustainable Drainage Systems

July 2018 – Is there a crisis of trust in water companies?

September 2018 – AGM and Quality of water and rivers: One year on from WWF’s report, Flushed Away

October 2018 – Water and the Agriculture Bill

Group Sponsors

The Group is supported by a range of organisations across the water sector who help fund the running of the Group via its secretariat, Connect. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of the Group please contact appwg@connectpa.co.uk.

Contact the Group

If you have any questions or would like to find out more about the Group, please contact Fenella Nance at the Group’s secretariat on appwg@connectpa.co.uk.

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