Published: 17th June 2021

Jonathan Brearley, UKRN CEO, opened today’s event Reflections on responding to the impact of Covid with his thoughts on being a regulator during the Covid crisis and a call to collaborate effectively through UKRN and think about the future:

“of the 11.3 million people who have experienced a fall in income since the start of the pandemic, we are told 1 in 5 has fallen behind on at least one household bill; most often council tax, utilities or rent. We therefore have a vital role to work with our regulated sectors, as well as with each other, to continue to support consumers throughout the pandemic and deal with the economic and social issues it has created”.

“It is important we reflect on some of the positives we have seen during this period, including the enhanced collaboration and faster decision making we have seen across government, regulators and industry. It is also timely to reflect on what lays ahead of us in our regulated sectors and any enduring changes we might need”

Speaker Louise Beardmore, Customer Service and People Director at United Utilities said “Markets will take time to recover and some may have changed for ever”

The event was attended by UKRN members along with trade associations, consumer bodies and relevant government departments.