Oral Answers to Questions

Polly Billington Excerpts

Thursday 14th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Daniel Zeichner]

Once again, I direct right the hon. Gentleman back to the figures from the Treasury, which show that the numbers affected are under 500. That is the answer to his question.

[Ms Polly Billington (East Thanet) (Lab)]

13. What steps his Department is taking to help ensure that the independent commission on the water sector regulatory system strengthens regulation.

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Steve Reed)]

The independent commission on the water sector was launched on 23 October and will be chaired by Sir Jon Cunliffe. It is the biggest review of the industry since privatisation and will report next summer. It will focus on boosting investability, speeding up the delivery of water infrastructure and cleaning up our waterways.

[Ms Billington]

Southern Water is responsible for blighting beaches with raw sewage along Ramsgate, Margate and Broadstairs, yet it plans on increasing household bills by 73% over the next five years, and the chief executive officers of Southern Water have received £4 million over the last five years in bonuses and salaries. Will the new independent commission do something about this egregious situation?

[Steve Reed]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on campaigning for her local water consumers. She is right to point to the wide failings across the system. We have charged Sir Jon Cunliffe with leading a commission that will look at how we can completely reset the sector—regulation, governance and how the sector operates—so that the levels of pollution and failure under the previous Government can never be repeated.