News & insights

In January 2026, the UK Government published its Water White Paper, A New Vision for Water, marking what ministers have described as a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" to fundamentally reform England and Wales' water sector. CEPA's water sector experts set out their thoughts on the fundamental constraints and trade-offs that any reform programme must navigate. It serves as a foundation for a series of discussion papers in which CEPA explores specific aspects of the reform agenda in greater depth.

• The first in the series of discussion papers examines the Water White Paper and the implications of moving to a proposed supervisory regulatory framework: A new vision for water: Understanding the UK Government’s white paper and the path ahead.
• The second paper reviews issues arising from the policy direction that is signalled in the White Paper on regional planning issues and sets out a framework to help consider the choices and trade-offs in the Government’s emerging proposals: A new vision for water: Choices that underpin regional planning in the water white paper.