THE Government has been accused by West Somerset MP Rachel Gilmour of ‘pulling its punches’ on promised water industry reforms.

Mrs Gilmour criticised the Government’s new Water White Paper, warning it fails to deliver the ‘fundamental change’ needed to protect local waterways.

She argued the proposals ‘pull their punches’ and do not go far enough to stop sewage dumping.

The Government White Paper is proposing MOT-style checks, unannounced inspections, and compulsory water efficiency labels on appliances in what it said would be the largest overhaul of the water industry in England and Wales since privatisation.

Mrs Gilmour has campaigned for a new independent regulator to prevent water companies polluting waterways.

She said she was currently trying to arrange to meet with representatives of Wessex Water to push for local improvements in West Somerset.

The area currently has two ‘brown flag’ beaches, considered an indicator of poor water quality and pollution, covering the beaches in Dunster and Blue Anchor West.

Mrs Gilmour said: “People in West Somerset are simply fed up with empty promises while our precious local environment, like at Dunster Beach and Blue Anchor West, is ravaged by corporate greed.

“The Government has pulled its punches and deserves better.

“We need a complete overhaul of how our waterways are regulated and run.

“Liberal Democrats are calling for a new ownership model where water companies are mutually owned by customers and professionally managed.

“The public are being kept in the dark about the true scale of the pollution in our rivers.

“I am calling on the Government to force water companies to record and publish the volume of sewage they dump, not just the duration of spills.

“We cannot bring an end to the sewage scandal without reliable data to hold water companies accountable.”