Mims Davies

My condolences, Minister. Again, we have no water across parts of Sussex and Kent. That is expected to continue at the very least until tomorrow in my area. Again, we have a shambolic response, with more than 16,000 households in East Grinstead, Ashurst Wood and some of my Wealden villages affected. Again, my constituents have been left with poor, misleading or no communication from South East Water, with too many vulnerable people—even those on the priority services register—left waiting. Again, we have livestock owners struggling to get water for their animals. Many businesses have shut, as have many schools and nurseries. Again, water bottle stations have been poorly organised, with little or no clear provision for hard-hit rural villages and areas, forcing residents to make long drives. There have been failures to open or stations running dry far too quickly, creating huge gridlock, frustration and anger. All this, unbelievably, coincides with East Grinstead train station serving as the terminus for Gatwick airport rail replacement buses, which demonstrates a complete lack of joined-up planning. The local resilience forums are in place, but the logistics are failing. What penalties or sanctions will the water company face, and what level of compensation—which my constituents and, indeed, many other constituents deserve—will they actually receive? Given the numerous and repeated serious failings on the part of South East Water in just the last five years, does the Minister agree with me and with many others that South East Water urgently needs new leadership that is capable of addressing emergencies properly and, crucially, restoring much-needed confidence in the company’s ability to manage its systems, infrastructure and water supplies and to provide the service that is needed, now and in the future?