Assuring the future: Navigating AMP8 with confidence in technical assurance

Published: 1 July 2025

As the UK water industry enters the eighth asset management period (AMP8), spanning 2025 to 2030, the regulatory landscape is undergoing a significant transformation.

Ofwat’s AMP8 assurance framework is setting the tone for the next five years, with heightened expectations around net-zero commitments, customer-centric outcomes, data transparency, and long-term infrastructure resilience.

For water companies, this means more than just meeting compliance checkboxes. It requires a strategic, integrated approach to assurance, one that not only validates technical and financial submissions but also builds trust with regulators, customers and stakeholders.

The rising bar of regulatory expectations

AMP8 is not business as usual. Ofwat is demanding greater clarity, consistency and confidence in the data and narratives that underpin business plans.

This includes:

Net-zero alignment: Demonstrating credible pathways to decarbonisation
Customer value: Evidencing how investment plans deliver tangible benefits
Data integrity: Ensuring that performance and cost data are accurate, auditable and transparent
Resilience: Showing how plans will safeguard services against climate, operational and financial shocks

In this context, assurance is no longer a backend validation exercise; it is a strategic enabler of regulatory success.

Building confidence in delivery

Technical assurance plays a critical role in verifying the feasibility and robustness of asset investment programmes. Whether it’s a major capital scheme or a targeted maintenance programme, regulators want to see that proposals and the ongoing delivery are grounded in sound engineering and realistic delivery timelines, and can justify continued investment.

A structured assurance approach, aligned with ISO 19011:2018 and the Institute of Internal Auditors’ three lines of defence model, ensures that technical submissions are not only compliant but credible.

This includes:

Independent assurance of asset strategies and delivery plans
Validation of assumptions, methodologies, and risk assessments
Alignment with WRMP, DWMP, RAPID, DPC, and other statutory planning frameworks

Getting the numbers right

Data is the foundation of regulatory decision-making. Inaccurate or inconsistent data can undermine even the strongest business case. That’s why data table assurance is essential.

This involves:

Verifying the accuracy, completeness and traceability of submitted data
Ensuring consistency across financial, performance and asset datasets
Identifying and resolving anomalies before submission

With Ofwat placing increasing emphasis on data quality, robust assurance processes are critical to maintaining credibility and avoiding penalties.

Turning funding into outcomes

Price control deliverables (PCDs) and delivery plans are central to demonstrating that enhancement funding is being used effectively and efficiently. Without robust assurance, even well-intentioned plans risk falling short of expectations.

This involves:

Validating that delivery plans are realistic, well-sequenced, and supported by appropriate governance
Providing independent evidence that PCDs are on track to be delivered to scope, time and quality
Monitoring progress against key milestones and proactively managing delivery risks
Confirming that outputs meet Ofwat’s completion criteria before claiming delivery

With Ofwat linking funding more directly to outcomes, strong assurance processes are essential to protect reputations, secure future investment, and maintain regulatory confidence.

Importance of a proactive, risk-based approach

The most effective assurance programmes are those that are proactive, risk-based, and tailored to the unique context of each organisation.

This means:

Prioritising high-risk or high-impact areas for deeper scrutiny
Coordinating across internal and external assurance providers
Embedding continuous improvement through lessons learned and feedback loops

By taking this approach, water companies can meet regulatory requirements while driving operational excellence and stakeholder confidence.

Strengthening the narrative

Looking to the next investment cycle, PR29 business plans must tell a compelling story; one that balances ambition with affordability, and innovation with accountability.

Assurance helps strengthen this narrative by:

Testing the coherence and consistency of business cases
Validating cost-benefit analyses and investment justifications
Ensuring alignment with customer priorities and long-term outcomes

By embedding assurance early in the planning process, companies can avoid costly reworking, reduce regulatory challenge, and improve the likelihood of funding approval.

Looking ahead

AMP8 represents both a challenge and an opportunity. The companies that succeed will be those that treat assurance not as a compliance burden, but as a strategic asset – one that enables better decisions, stronger performance, and more resilient outcomes.

As the industry prepares for successful AMP8 delivery and looks to PR29, now is the time to invest in assurance capabilities that are agile, insightful, and aligned with the future of water regulation.

Need support?

We can provide robust audit programmes and third-party independent assurance to help you achieve compliance and provide evidence-based stakeholder confidence.

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