The committee had read all the written submissions in advance of questions and two other groups – the Regional Development Authorities and the Institute of Civil Engineers – were questioned during this session.

IWA’s session went well and MPs seemed quite sympathetic. National chairman John Fletcher led and the IWA’s other speakers were deputy national chairman Roger Squires and chief executive Neil Edwards.

A wide range of subjects such as promotion of freight carriage, development and restoration were covered, with examples such as the Lichfield & Hatherton project which could bring enormous benefits to BW’s existing waterways. Generally, IWA was supportive of BW’s current management but pointed out a number of areas where there could be improvement, especially given additional resources.

In response to a question as to whether there would be more appropriate department, than Defra, for BW to be sponsored by? John Fletcher’s reply was: ‘Whilst recognising the good work of some former ministers who really seemed to care about the waterways, at the moment just about any department would seem better.’