Good afternoon. Water companies in england and wales have been ordered to repay nearly £158 Million to their customers. The Regulator Ofwat says its because the firms have failed to meet performance targets such as cutting Sewage Spills and leaks. Some future Water Bills will be reduced to reflect the missed targets. Our Environment Correspondent Jonah Fisher reports. A warning this report contains flashing images. This Report Card does not make pleasant reading for the Water Companies. Targets for reducing leaks are not being hit, the number of Pollution Incidents has hardly changed in the last five years and Customer Satisfaction has continued to fall. Three Water Companies anglian, southern and welsh are rated bottom of the class. The others are just average, with none rated in the top category. So we think the sector suffers from a culture of poor performance, that companies are not taking responsibility for their performance. They are too often blaming the weather or the circumst
Good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. The government has released a new definition of extremism, in order, it says, to try to stop organisations which promote hatred, violence and intolerance. The new terminology will be used to assess whether groups are eligible to receive public funding or support. But critics say the measure threatens Freedom Of Speech and public protest. Our Political Correspondent peter saull has this report. Was has become a regular side, thousands was has become a regular side, thousands of was has become a regular side, thousands of people was has become a regular side, thousands of people taking was has become a regular side, thousands of people taking to the streets in protest of israels actions in gaza. The current conflict in the middle east has prompted a political debate notjust about the fighting there but about the impact on Community Cohesion here. In the impact on Community Cohesion here. ~, the impact on Community Cohesion here. ,. , her
in the three months tojune with forecasters warning recession is still likely later in the year. 7,000 extra hospital beds this winter, including in pop up sites the nhs in england unveils its plans to cope with expected pressures. more chaos for rail passengers train drivers prepare to strike tomorrow on nine lines across the country. # up in space, man. and, the shortlist is announced for hosting next year s eurovision song contest seven uk cities are in the running. and coming up on the bbc news channel: britain s rowers overcome problems in the quad sculls at the european championships to reach the medalfinal in munich. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at 0ne. a drought has been declared in parts of england, after the driestjuly on record in some areas of the country. it means water companies can announce stricter measures to conserve supplies, and it comes as yorkshire water became the latest to announce a hosepipe ban, in the wake of low rainfall and h