Supply chain survey will assess Covid-19 impact

As lead representative body for the UK water industry supply chain, the association has provided constant support to its members throughout the pandemic, while also monitoring the impact on the industry as a whole.  Now, six months into the crisis, it is reaching out to members and non-members with a survey to establish how specific areas of individual businesses have been affected and what their future expectations are.

The survey will examine the full impact of Covid-19 on the water and wastewater supplier community to date. Responses received will help inform British Water’s ongoing support package, to ensure companies across all levels of the supply chain continue to receive appropriate help and guidance. The survey’s findings will be shared with the supplier community.

British Water chief executive Lila Thompson said: “Covid-19 has impacted all of our lives and businesses in different ways and will continue to do so for many months to come.  We have been in close contact with the water supplier community throughout the crisis and have a good understanding of its experiences so far, but would now like to explore specific areas, such as cashflow, turnover and staff wellbeing, as well as hear concerns, insights and suggestions.  From day one, the response to the crisis from the water supply chain has been fantastic and the industry has rightly received praise from regulators and government. As the UK approaches winter and the next stage of the pandemic, we want to do all we can to help the sector continue to provide its essential services to customers. It is important for us to get a full picture of how the whole water supplier community has been affected and would be grateful for input from non-members, as well as members.”

A link to the survey can be found on the British Water website. It should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete and all responses will be kept confidential and outputs anonymised. Deadline is 12 noon on Friday 2 October 2020.