Water: Standards
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of low consumer confidence in the quality of tap water on public behaviour, including increased bottled water use.
Answered by Emma Hardy
The quality of public drinking water in England is exceptionally high and among the best in the world with compliance rates of 99.97% over the last few years. According to the 2025 British Soft Drinks Association annual report, market data shows only a 3% year-on-year growth in volume of bottled waters sold for 2023-2024, as the most recent available data. This Government has also acted decisively on behalf of consumers, introducing a power in The Water (Special Measures) Act to enable the Consumer Council for Water, as the independent statutory consumer advocate for the water sector in England and Wales, to stand up Consumer Panels in every water company. These panels will help to rebuild trust in the water sector and support increased consumer confidence by creating a forum for further embedding customer views in the decision-making process.
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