Thames Water
| Use attributes for filter ! | |
| Ceo | Steve Robertson |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Reading |
| United Kingdom | |
| Parent organizations | Kemble Water Limited |
| Number of employees | 9,000 |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Subsidiaries | Engenica |
| Thames Water Utilities Finance Plc | |
| Date of Reg. | |
| Date of Upd. | |
| ID | 907831 |
About Thames Water
Thames Water Utilities Ltd, known as Thames Water, is the monopoly private utility company responsible for the public water supply and waste water treatment in large parts of Greater London, Luton, the Thames Valley, Surrey, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Kent, and some other areas of the United Kingdom.
Water supplies start to return after thousands left without in Surrey
... Thames Water said the plant was back online with water returning to half of affected customers...
Surrey: Thousands still without water as major incident declared
... Thames Water has apologised and said Shalford treatment works in Guildford had issues " caused by Storm Ciarán"...
Godalming residents without water due to issue at treatment works
... Thames Water apologised to those in Godalming, Surrey, who were affected and said it was investigating what had happened...
MPs call for investigation after BBC News report on sewage
......
Water firms illegally spilled sewage on dry days - data suggests
... Spills in green haven Another frequent spiller appears to be Thames Water s Longbridge Road overflow site in east London, which releases sewage directly into Mayes Brook...
Labour reshuffle: Sir Keir Starmer to shake up shadow cabinet
... He has been widely regarded as an effective communicator and his forensic grilling of companies such as Thames Water, Royal Mail and P& O at various committee hearings has often landed him positive headlines...
Water firms face legal action over sewage pollution
... Thames Water, United Utilities, Anglian Water, Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water are all set to have cases brought against them after Severn Trent...
Urinal appears on the side of Sonning bridge over River Thames
... Impro also directly referenced Thames Water, which has and leaks...
General election 2019: What are nationalisation and privatisation?
The Political Parties are setting out their ideas for the Country .
accusing the Conservatives of wanting to do a deal with Donald Trump .
Meanwhile, the Conservatives have criticised Labour's to provide free broadband
But what do nationalisation and privatisation actually mean?
What is nationalisation?Nationalisation is when a Government takes control or ownership of Private Property , like a Company .
It is complex, but there are different ways this can be done.
For example, a Government could buy up 50. 1% (ie the majority) of the shares in a Company .
The coal industry was nationalised in 1947Private owners don't have to agree to transfer ownership to the Government - it makes that decision for them.
Full nationalisation involves a Government taking on an industry's entire assets and operations.
When the coal industry was nationalised after World War Two, for example, it involved the transfer of ownership and control of 1,200 pits owned by 800 companies who employed 700,000 workers.
Tens of millions of pounds was paid in compensation to the previous owners for their assets - the mines, colliery plants and all the equipment.
The Government can also buy individual companies outright, although this is fairly unusual.
What is privatisation?Privatisation is The Opposite of nationalisation.
It typically refers to the ownership of property, a business, or an industry being transferred from a Government to an individual, or another private Company .
Under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher , at least. They included companies like BT and British Airways , as well as more complex ones like the rail industry.
Among them, water and sewerage services were privatised in England and Wales in 1989.
Thames Water 's Hampton Water treatment worksThey are now run by private companies, although there is a national regulator of the regional water companies called Ofwat. It can set caps on how much water companies charge customers.
The privatisation of Royal Mail took place in 2013. The Government sold a 13% stake in The Business , while 1% was awarded to employees.
What is a bailout?A bailout is usually when a Government rescues a failing private Company by giving it money or loans, or buys shares in it.
It is a form of nationalisation, and can be a temporary measure. It has been used to save banks that were in Trouble .
RBS is still 62% owned by The British taxpayer, down from 70% in 2008during the financial crisis, for example.
In The Last decade, it has had to cut 130,000 jobs and shut up or sell operations in 41 countries.
In the 2018 Budget, it said it was
What are the pros and cons?Nationalisation can stir up a lot of debate.
Some people think that it makes sense for the Government to be in charge of industries where a natural monopoly exists. That means where a single firm supplies everyone with a particular product or service.
The State getting involved should mean theoretically that consumers pay The Best prices available, and are not exploited.
But, issues can still arise.
Questions could be raised over a Government 's actions and their impact on other investors in a partly-nationalised Company .
For example, some shareholders in a nationalised energy Company might lose money if a Government decided to reduce energy bills. Such a decision could break Company law, because those smaller investors could suffer if share prices went down. This means they are being "unfairly prejudiced".
Bulk buying for railwaysbringing private rail companies back into public ownership, as train operators' contracts to run parts of the rail network expire. from some commuters annoyed by fare increases and overcrowded trains.
It is argued that national ownership could also lead to cost savings. For example, a nationalised rail service could bulk buy the materials, track and the rolling stock needed across a rail network, reducing costs.
Britain's railways still rely heavily on state supportLabour has also previously proposed bringing water companies back into public ownership.
Unions often favour nationalisation. That's because they feel they might be treated better by a Government , rather than big businesses.
However, Labour's nationalisation plans would result in "a collapse in business investment and a crash in the value of the pound".
CompetitionOther people argue that private companies are more efficient.
That's because they're in competition with each other and may have to cut costs and use better production methods to make more profit.
There's also a fear that governments interfere in how state-owned companies are run, making changes that suit their political agenda, or that suit them ahead of an election.
Nationalised companies or industries might also struggle for cash long-term.
If they are competing with other Government departments like education, health and defence, there could be a risk that state-owned industries are Underfunded .
conservative party, labour party
Source of news: bbc.com
