The petition of residents of the constituency of Tunbridge Wells in Kent,
Declares that a local petition by pupils of sixteen primary schools calling on the Government to require South East Water to improve their water network in Tunbridge Wells has generated a lot of interest; notes that Tunbridge Wells recently experienced two severe water outages as a result of failures in South East Water’s network; further declares that these outages caused significant hardship and that 23 schools were forced to close, depriving children of valuable learning time; and further declares that access to clean running water is a basic necessity, and that South East Water must take urgent action to improve the resilience of its network to prevent such failures from recurring.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to take into account the concerns of the petitioners and take immediate action to require South East Water to improve the resilience of its network in Tunbridge Wells, so that families and pupils do not again face prolonged periods without access to clean running water.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Mike Martin, Official Report, 7 July 2026; Vol. 789, c. 280.]
[P003216]
Observations from the Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy):
I would like to thank the petitioners for raising this important issue. We particularly recognise the efforts of the pupils from St John’s primary school and the other local primary schools who have helped bring attention to the importance of a reliable water supply for their communities. It is encouraging to see young people engaging with issues that affect their families, schools and local area.
I recognise the significant impact that recent water supply outages have had on residents, businesses and schools in Tunbridge Wells. Access to a reliable supply of clean drinking water is a basic necessity, and the disruption experienced by customers was unacceptable. DEFRA Ministers have made this clear to South East Water and have engaged directly with the company, local representatives and regulators throughout these incidents.
Following the recent incidents in Tunbridge Wells, affected customers may be entitled to compensation under the strengthened guaranteed standards scheme. We updated the scheme in 2025, increasing compensation levels and introducing new protections, including for customers affected by boil water notices. These reforms are intended to ensure that customers receive better protection and that water companies face stronger consequences when standards are not met.
Water companies have a statutory duty to provide a secure and resilient water supply for their customers. We expect all companies to deliver the reliable service that customers deserve. South East Water’s performance has fallen below those expectations, with repeated supply disruptions and weaknesses in operational resilience raising serious concerns.
Regulators are taking robust action. Ofwat has opened investigations into South East Water’s performance, including customer service and supply resilience matters, and has proposed a £22 million penalty following an investigation into historic resilience failures. The Drinking Water Inspectorate concluded that the Tunbridge Wells incident was foreseeable and preventable, identified systemic operational failings and placed the company into a formal transformation programme to drive improvement.
We are working closely with regulators to ensure South East Water is held to account and delivers the improvements needed to provide a reliable and resilient service. Through enhanced regulatory oversight and ongoing monitoring, we will continue to press the company to strengthen its network, improve operational performance and restore public confidence.
We take the concerns raised by the petitioners seriously and share their expectation that customers in Tunbridge Wells should not face further prolonged interruptions to their water supply.
I would like to thank the petitioners for raising this important issue. I recognise the hardship caused by the recent outages and fully expect South East Water to take the necessary action to improve the resilience of its network. We will continue to work with regulators to ensure that the company is held to account and that customers receive the reliable water service they are entitled to expect.