Following weeks of dry weather across the country, many water companies have issued hosepipe bans and encouraged consumers to conserve supplies. A lot of media attention has been focused on the amount of water lost to leaks by water providers.Â
Many pundits have laid the blame on the fact that water companies are privatised. Their answer is renationalisation.
As Joanna Marchong explores this week as part of an in-depth blog for the TaxPayer's Alliance, is public ownership of the water industry a viable solution?
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In England and Wales there are 25 water companies that are privately owned. Compare this to Scotland, where Scottish Water is wholly under public ownership. So who has performed best when it comes to leakage? Using all the available data we’ve managed to create a better picture of how they shape up.
As you can see, Scottish Water is losing 30.2 per cent of its total water supply. In simple terms - based on this limited data - nationalised companies seem to be performing worse than their privatised counterparts in terms of leakage.
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Providers all across the country are doing more to stop leaks but we shouldn’t rest on our laurels. The best markets have the most competition. The next government should look again at introducing competition to the water industry for householdsÂ
Greater competition in markets will almost always result in better service and a reduction in prices. And, despite what the pundits claim, it will always produce better results than renationalisation.Â
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TaxPayers' Alliance in the news
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Even more NHS wokery!
Just when you thought the NHS couldn't possibly waste any more money they've gone and done it again! This time splashing ÂŁ1 million on staff to attend "tea and rainbow cake picnics" and even a "Filipino martial arts performance." You literally couldn't make it up!
Our findings were so hard-hitting and damning of the health service that they made the front page of Saturday's Daily Mail.Â
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Our investigations campaign manager Elliot Keck didn't hold back in his comments to Mail readers, "Many of the networks are a questionable use of NHS time and taxpayers' money. While Brits wait patiently for their appointments and operations, NHS middle managers are busy organising right-on lectures and social events"
As Britain's waste watchdog, the TaxPayers' Alliance is demanding that health chiefs scale back these unnecessary 'woke' networks.'
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What a cop out!
A new aim to try and reduce speeding by West Mercia Police certainly raised a few eyebrows this week. The force has deployed two lifesize cardboard cutouts of officers holding radar guns in a bid to see if motorists will be less inclined to speed. Questions have rightly been raised about how effective this scheme will really be.
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In his comments to both The Telegraph and The Sun newspapers, our chief executive, John O'Connell, echoed these concerns, telling readers, “These cardboard coppers are hard to justify. Speeding is a serious issue, but taxpayers expect forces to spend their cash on catching criminals and putting bobbies on the beat. Constables must slam the breaks on wasteful spending and focus resources on frontline service.”
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Yes we can cut taxes!
Once again we challenged the narrative that tax cuts are unaffordable in the wake of a report by the IFS. Appearing on GBNews, Elliot made the case that we need to take a "longer-term view of the economy" and tax cuts will result in "a larger economy."
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Additionally, as the IFS does acknowledge, there is expected to be around ÂŁ30 billion of fiscal headroom in government spending. So there is plenty of wiggle room for much-needed tax cuts which we'll keep banging the drum for! Click here to watch a clip from the interview.
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Money to burn
Government figures have revealed the shocking amounts of taxpayers' cash spent on heating Whitehall offices which were empty during the pandemic. According to the Daily Mail, "Gas and electricity bills for empty Whitehall offices cost the taxpayer ÂŁ12 million."
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Asked to comment on figures John took a much-needed stand for over-taxed Brits, "It’s bad enough that taxpayers are paying so much more for their own energy bills, without paying extra for Whitehall’s too. Bureaucrats must act as if they’re the ones coughing up, seeking energy efficiencies and demanding a better deal, rather than just saddling taxpayers with extra costs."
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Dodgy degrees cost us all dearly
Today marks the end of  A-Level results week. For many, their grades are the gatekeepers for the supposed holy grail of academic achievement - a university degree.
But the reality is that universities are increasingly failing students, and placing an unnecessary and unsustainable burden on taxpayers. Too many young people are being pushed into degrees that they won’t benefit from and that they can’t afford.
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I've unearthed some of the most ridiculous modules that are on offer to Britain’s best and brightest starting their degrees this autumn from "The Golf Industry in the 21st century" to "Modern Knowledge, Modern Power."
At present, just 20 per cent of 2021-22 starters are expected to pay back their student loans in full. As I examine this week the government forecasts the value of outstanding loans to exceed ÂŁ500 billion by the middle of the century! Click here to read our proposals for a better system.
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The TaxPayers' Alliance is looking to hire a new researcher! We're looking for someone to produce hard-hitting research by uncovering new primary data and react swiftly to current events by preparing briefings and short notes.
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To apply, please email [email protected] with a CV and cover letter outlining your suitability for the role.
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More fallout from Northumberland council
We've previously called out the disgraceful decision to award Northumberland County Council's chief executive a golden goodbye of £209,000. But this isn't the end of the sorry saga.
The local press reports that "Interim arrangements for a number of high-paying jobs at the council are set to continue for up to six more months." There are currently 14 staff members hired under these arrangements which will cost the taxpayer an additional ÂŁ243,779!
Let this be a lesson to other local authorities, don't become another Northumberland. Local residents are sick and tired of being asked to pick up the bill for poor performance.
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Harry Fone
Grassroots Campaign Manager
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