Michel Barnier says Britain could avoid having to join the single currency, but free movement is non-negotiable

Government plans for eight new regional water councils in England have been dismissed as a “cover for inaction” by the Liberal Democrats.

The proposals are being presented by the government as part of Andy Burnham’s devolution mission and they are intended to give all parts of England the advantages Greater Manchester has had from its regional water planning.

Eight new regional water councils will bring local leaders, customers and businesses together to set the priorities for their region, helping shape billions of pounds of investment in water and flood infrastructure.

Decisions about the water system are taken nationally, despite communities facing very different challenges. From Lake Windermere, where discharge of sewage has damaged local tourism, or in Cambridge, where drought and water shortages have stalled growth – local areas have not had enough influence over the decisions that directly affect them.

Existing regional partnerships have already shown what can be achieved when decisions are shaped around local needs. Greater Manchester’s Integrated Water Management Plan has brought together planning, regulation and investment, with improved drainage helping support town-centre regeneration. In East Anglia, Water Resources East has brought partners together to tackle severe water scarcity, including the constraints it places on sustainable growth in Greater Cambridge.

The government has dressed up these water boards as community empowerment but it’s clear already that this is just a cover for excusing the next decade of inaction on water. The secretary of state [Angela Eagle] herself couldn’t spell out a single power these councils will have to stop our waterways being trashed - and there’s no sight of the long promised water bill to deliver reform.

What bill payers really need now is a new Clean Water Authority with the muscle to end the sewage scandal, ban unjustified bonuses and hold water executives legally accountable.

This kind of abuse can include female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage.

There were 3,145 honour-based abuse-related offences recorded by forces in the two nations in the year to March.