Independent Water Commission Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateTom Rutland
Main Page: Tom Rutland (Labour - East Worthing and Shoreham)Department Debates - View all Tom Rutland's debates with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(1 day, 18 hours ago)
Commons ChamberBy monitoring every single outlet and making that visible to people across the country—campaigners and residents—we will open up the system with far greater transparency than has previously been the case.
Last week, it was revealed that the chief executive of Southern Water was awarded an egregious, enormous pay rise worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, despite the company continuing to oversee sewage spills and infrastructure failures that affect my constituents. Does the Secretary of State agree that water bosses should not profit from overseeing catastrophic failure?
I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend and share his sentiment that the payment is outrageous. It was possible as part of a scheme that was permitted under the regulatory regime allowed by the previous Government. We have changed the law; it will not happen again.