Emma Hardy

I would like to update the House on the ongoing water supply disruption across southern England, but before I do that, I pay tribute to my dad, David Mattinson, who passed away last Monday at Dove House hospice. I thank everybody at the hospice for the wonderful care they gave him. As a primary headteacher, he inspired so many people and was truly loved. He will be deeply missed by my sisters, my mum and me, and all who knew him. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] I thank the nature Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry East (Mary Creagh), for covering me during my leave, and my friends and colleagues across the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. They met the chief executive of South East Water and numerous MPs last week and several times over the weekend. I really appreciate the teamwork and solidarity, so I thank them. This is an unacceptable supply failure, particularly for residents in Tunbridge Wells, who face significant disruption for the second time in as many months. We are holding South East Water to account as the company responsible for the areas most affected. We have been clear in our daily meetings with the company that restoring supply must be the company’s absolute priority, that every possible measure must be taken to protect vulnerable customers, and that those affected must receive proper compensation for the disruption they have experienced. Far too many people are unable to wash safely or have adequate sanitation in their homes. Far too many businesses are being affected. The supply issues in Kent and Sussex have been caused by several short-term factors, including a period of prolonged cold weather, which led to a large number of burst pipes and water mains across the network, and operational issues at water treatment sites caused by Storm Goretti. However, the disruption in the south-east comes against a backdrop of previous outages and continued poor performance by South East Water in maintaining a reliable service for its customers. It is yet further evidence that the water system is broken. For too long, water companies have failed to maintain their infrastructure and build the resilience needed to withstand events like this. Customers are paying the price for years of under-investment, and the Government will fix this through our wholesale water reforms. Those include stronger rules on maintenance and resilience, backed by £104 billion of private investment for infrastructure upgrades and the creation of a new single powerful regulator.