Emma Hardy
MP for Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice · Labour · United Kingdom
“If the soil can retain more moisture, that helps with drought in the summer—that helps with groundwater levels—but it will also absorb more water when there is a flood. It was interesting that the hon. Lady mentioned the Netherlands. Just last week, I met someone and talked to them about their regional planning and—exactly as the hon.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“While I have the Floor, and I am able to, I will talk a little bit about what we have been doing. After more than a decade of under-investment by the previous Government, we have invested £2.65 billion in our first two years, delivered real change, stabilised the condition of existing defences and done 250 flood defence projects, with new…”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Government are committed to building the homes the country needs while ensuring they are resilient and safe from flooding, and a consultation on the new national planning policy framework concluded recently. The updated policy clarifies how key flood risk tests should be applied and strengthens policies relating to coastal risk.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The situation now is that 81% of the country in drought, but we saw some flooding just last week—and one area that is in drought had a flood as well. We are dealing with the impact of climate change, which is absolutely here and now.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I will do my best to croak my way through the rest of the debate. I thank the hon. Member for North Herefordshire (Dr Chowns) for securing this really important debate. It was heartening that there was so much I found myself nodding along with as she was speaking.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Lady was on the Environmental Audit Committee, and one of the things that we have taken from the recommendations in the Committee’s report, which was a really good piece of work, was about how we create that one-stop shop for information.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
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“Under the Environment Act, we have set a clear long-term target to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment from agriculture entering the water environment by 40% by 2038. There are various means by which we want to achieve that. We committed in the White Paper to simplifying and improving the regulatory framework for agriculture, developing a single robust, England-wide regulation and, where necessary, strengthening standards. We are doubling funding for the Environment Agency’s farm inspection and enforcement team, enabling at least 6,000 inspections a year by 2029, and we are strengthening local advice through our catchment-sensitive farming, as well as through the new £30 million farmer collaboration fund, which we announced earlier this month at the Oxford farming conference.”
House of Commons29 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“There are two pilot rounds in the landscape recovery scheme that we are looking at, and we have provided 56 projects with development grants to support farmers, landowners and environmental organisations in developing strategies for long-term nature recovery. Collectively, these projects aim to restore 600 km of rivers, helping to reconnect rivers to their floodplains. The hon. Member for North Herefordshire speaks with passion and knowledge about agriculture pollution. She is quite right that it is one of the most significant contributors to pollution in our rivers, affecting over 40% of our water bodies. Agriculture pollution, including nitrogen, nutrients and soil or sediment run-off, has a profound impact on the health of freshwater environments and the biodiversity that depends on them.”
House of Commons29 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I really enjoyed the launch of Making Space for Water, which I thought was a fantastic event. There was so much passion and willingness to collaborate in that room. Making Space for Water calls for incentives for land managers to help to create nature-friendly river corridors through the ELM scheme, as my hon. Friend the Member for Brent West mentioned—I will get him a response from the Minister for farming on some of the more specific details. Through those schemes, we include specific actions in the sustainable farming initiative, which pays farmers for establishing and managing buffer strips beside watercourses. We also agree with Making Space for Water that it is important to reconnect rivers to floodplains, restoring natural processes and enhancing biodiversity.”
House of Commons29 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“That work is happening alongside the reform of regulatory powers, cracking down on poor performance, improving transparency and ensuring that the polluter pays. For the first time, our river systems will be managed in a fully integrated way, ensuring that every sector, including agriculture, plays its part in restoring the health of our waterways—I also welcome the hon. Member for Bridgwater to his place. That work builds on some of the work we have done through the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025. Our revised environmental improvement plan has been mentioned, and that has ambitious Environment Act biodiversity targets, including to “restore or create more than 500,000 hectares…of wildlife-rich habitat outside protected sites by 2042”. Creating and restoring river habitats and wetlands will be vital to achieving that.”
House of Commons29 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I liked hearing about all the different schools. I love an eco-council group—they are just fantastic. Any Member who ever feels slightly jaded by politics—which, of course, would never, ever happen—should go and spend time with primary children. They will come away feeling so uplifted, because primary children are so passionate and they care so greatly, so good on all of them. I ask my hon. Friend to pass on my congratulations; I hope that they continue to challenge us, as we take all our work forward. As we have mentioned, we are also accelerating nature-based solutions, looking at where we can restore wetlands, reconnect floodplains and improve river corridors—that came up a lot, and quite rightly so: how do we make river corridors to create healthier, more resilient catchments?”
House of Commons29 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“On that point, I thank all the emergency services and everybody who has been involved in the response to Storm Chandra. My sympathy and support goes out to everyone who has been impacted. The latest update that I have had from the team is that the overall flood risk remains at “medium”. That means that rivers impact is probable in parts of south-west England today. I really hope that does not result in properties being flooded, although I accept that the impact on the farming community has already been huge. My hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Tom Hayes) always makes me smile. I love the fact that he is constantly championing his constituency and wants to protect and look after the people there who have faced such awful flooding, and he is quite right to call out poor behaviour wherever he sees it.”
House of Commons29 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It was really interesting to listen to so many Members talk about the way that rivers have been engineered. I visited a beautiful chalk stream not too far from where I live, to see how it was done. These rivers were straightened, as has been said, and this is our industrial heritage. Many were straightened to power the mills that ground corn, or for navigation, and that is why they wanted to create straight channels. Let me say to the hon. Member for Tiverton and Minehead (Rachel Gilmour) that I love the word “rewiggling”—it is a great word. When we look at where we can rewiggle them, the hon. Member for North Herefordshire (Dr Chowns) was right that they can hold more water when they are rewiggled. They can literally create more space and protect more communities.”
House of Commons29 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Friend the Member for Brent West talked about catchment measures, looking at the entire river basin, and looking at how it is all interconnected. That is exactly my vision for the regional water planning function: to look at all the different impacts on that water body. I could not agree more about how important nature-based solutions are and what they can deliver. We have already had a change-around in how we address flooding, through the change in the flood funding formula— I would really like us to embrace that—but we have to be honest: if we are embracing nature-based solutions, we are also embracing an element of risk. They do not carry the same certainty as adding chemicals to something, which makes it possible to predict a certain outcome. Nature is not like that, but nature is powerful, and I want to see it used more.”
House of Commons29 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“In addition to strengthening regulation, we will improve oversight of the water system and ensure action across every source of pollution. That is all set out in the White Paper, which was published earlier this month. As has been mentioned, among key measures, we are establishing a single empowered regulator for the entire water industry, backed by a chief engineer—it is astounding that the water industry did not have a chief engineer before, but it has one now—to drive long-term planning, improve performance and, importantly, prevent problems before they occur. We have also committed to delivering an enhanced, better, joined-up regional water planning function, to help to identify lower-cost and high-impact solutions to improve water quality and supply, considering opportunities across the sectors. It was really interesting that my hon.”
House of Commons29 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Rivers are under pressure from multiple sources, as has been mentioned, including business activity, agriculture, waste water treatment, urban development, recreation, transport and, of course, the growing impacts of climate change, which have quite rightly been mentioned. These combined pressures have directly contributed to declining water quality and the loss of freshwater biodiversity across many catchments. That is why we are committed to delivering the most ambitious programme of water reform in decades, including by strengthening regulation, which will definitely be done. Indeed, I can assure the hon. Member for Bridgwater (Sir Ashley Fox), the Opposition spokesman, that he will definitely see the transition plan, not just this year but, I can even say, early this year.”
House of Commons29 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Friend the Member for Brent West (Barry Gardiner) about seeing rivers as the lifeblood and living veins of our country. That is a wonderful, poetic way of explaining why they matter so much. I completely agree that they are not drains; they are places that are full of nature and full of life—but I would say that, of course, living near the River Humber. I know how important rivers are. However, communities see the problems that rivers face every day, through reduced water quality, declining biodiversity and rivers that are no longer the thriving ecosystems that they should be.”
House of Commons29 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is a pleasure, Ms Butler, to serve under your chairwomanship in Westminster Hall for the first time. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset (Lloyd Hatton) for securing this debate and for all the passion, care and interest that he has consistently shown in this issue. I share his excitement about the wild beaver release. I was quite jealous that my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry East (Mary Creagh), the Minister for nature, got to be there at the beaver release and I could not—I could not wangle an invite—but it was an incredible moment to see and truly exciting. I agree with so much of what my hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset said about how protecting and restoring our river habitats is one of the most urgent environmental challenges we face. I loved the imagery given by my hon.”
House of Commons29 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Member for Tiverton and Minehead, said, we are one of the only places that has so many of them. They are home to some of our rarest, and keystone, species, such as the Atlantic salmon. As the Making Space for Water campaign rightly highlights, protecting keystone species is key to healthy rivers and streams. I could say so much more, but I am conscious that I have been talking for 14 minutes, so I will move on.”
House of Commons29 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“That is part of the Government’s commitment to giving communities greater influence over water environment planning and decision making. Fundamentally, communities know their water areas the best. Through our increased funding, we expect to support more than 100 projects that will improve 450 km of rivers, restore 650 acres of natural habitats and plant 100,000 new trees. The additional funding is expected to attract at least a further £11 million from private sector investment, resulting in even greater benefit for local communities in all hon. Members’ constituencies. Restoring chalk streams—another of my favourites—is a core ambition of our water reforms. We are home to 85% of the world’s chalk streams. As the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon.”
House of Commons29 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“They include the Dorset Catchment Partnerships, which is leading work on the River Wey and other Dorset rivers to improve water quality, reduce run-off and restore natural flows. This is why, earlier this month, we announced that we are investing £29 million from water company fines into local projects that clean up our environment, including doubling our funding for catchment partnerships, providing them with an extra £1.7 million per year over the next two years. As my hon. Friend the Member for North East Hertfordshire (Chris Hinchliff) said, it is essential that we support and pay tribute to the growing number of grassroots organisations and the work they do to protect our natural environment. Doubling funding for catchment partnerships should help them to continue to do that work.”
House of Commons29 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I have seen the hon. Lady’s letter. I will get told off by officials for saying this, but I am basically looking at whether I can come back to the Wye and do something there with everybody. If not, we can do something in Parliament. I went to the Wye last year, and we announced our £1 million research fund to look at what is happening in the Wye. It would be quite nice to go back and see what has been happening. It is on my radar, and I will get her a proper answer in writing. As Making Space for Water highlights, it is crucial to connect river habitats at the catchment scale. I emphasise the importance of catchment partnerships to improving water quality and restoring natural processes. The partnerships are well established and effective in co-ordinating local collaboration and delivering projects with multiple benefits.”
House of Commons29 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“From national action on agricultural pollution and chalk stream protections, to ambitious local projects in South Dorset, we are driving real, long-term improvements. Together, those measures demonstrate our unwavering commitment to cleaner water, thriving habitats and a healthier natural environment across England.”
House of Commons29 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I did walk into that, didn’t I? I thank my hon. Friend. If he wants to send that through to me, I will of course take a serious look at it. I am very keen to be getting out and about when it is a bit less wet—but rain should be what I am used to. Restoring the health of our rivers is fundamental to safeguarding nature, supporting resilient communities and securing our water environment for generations to come. The Labour Government are committed to delivering the most comprehensive programme of reform ever undertaken. It involves strengthening regulation, boosting enforcement, investing in innovation, supporting local partnerships and empowering farmers, land managers and water companies to play their part.”
House of Commons29 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We have already taken tough action on the worst performing water companies, while protecting customers by doubling compensation for those impacted by supply interruptions. There are a few more treats included in today’s White Paper, among them a new chief engineer to bring technical expertise to the new regulator for the first time in 20 years; new performance improvement regimes, so that any water companies falling behind in finances, environmental standards, drinking water quality or operations will face tough consequences; and dedicated supervisory teams to replace the current one-size-fits-all approach and give the new single regulator a thorough understanding of how each company operates; no-notice inspections; mandatory water efficiency labelling; accelerated roll-out of smart meters; regional planning to bring together councils, water companies, farmers and developers to deliver joined-up plans to tackle river pollution, water resources and housing growth; and senior accountability to ensure water bosses are directly accountable for the service that customers receive.”
House of Commons20 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Allin-Khan. I thank the hon. Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Tom Gordon) for securing this debate. I am particularly delighted he has done so today—great timing—since today we have published our new vision for water. These are once-in-a-generation reforms to our water system, delivering tough oversight and real accountability, and putting an end to water company excuses. This Labour Government are doing away with water companies marking their own homework and are holding them firmly to account. From an MOT-style approach for water companies’ pipes and pumps to no-notice inspection powers, we are creating a system where customers get the service they deserve and bosses have nowhere to hide.”
House of Commons20 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Around the country, we have too many examples of things breaking before companies recognise that they should be fixed. The MOT work, the engineer and the resilience standards are all about understanding where the problems are and getting in there and fixing them first. Fundamentally, that is cheaper and better for customers, because it costs less to fix something before it breaks and creates a disaster somewhere.”
House of Commons20 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Another thing that comes up in debates on agricultural pollution is the effect that it has on the beautiful and stunning River Wye, and which I know is a huge source of concern for my hon. Friend the Member for Monmouthshire (Catherine Fookes). On page 35, we talk about how we will “consult on reforms on how sewage sludge use in agriculture is regulated and whether this should be included in the Environmental Permitting Regime..” One of the big focuses and challenges is what the difference would be, if these measures were all in place. One of the many key things is about prevention rather than cure—I know you will understand that analogy very well, Dr Allin-Khan. It is about getting companies to fix things before they break.”
House of Commons20 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“There is a direct reference to debt in the White Paper. It is also worth pointing out what it says in the section called “Putting Customers First”. Page 31 mentions “increasing public access to water for recreation and wellbeing”', something that I know my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase (Josh Newbury) is really interested in. That is because of the love that there is for the Tyne and how beautiful it is—we want to see people having access to it. The White Paper mentions the powerful new customer panels as well, and also looks at regulators strengthening the “customer measure of experience”. That is one of the metrics used to judge water companies and we want to strengthen that metric of experience.”
House of Commons20 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is outrageous; my heart sank when I saw Tunbridge Wells and its residents being impacted again after the awful situation that businesses faced in the run-up to Christmas. I am keen for them to receive compensation as quickly as possible. He is right to point out the concerns that we all had about the disinformation that was put out. The need for clear communication to everybody about what is happening is incredibly important. There are many things from the water White Paper that I would like to highlight. I hope we get a chance in Parliament over the coming weeks to look at some of that in more detail. There is a section on debt at the bottom of page 26 of the White Paper that states: “We will therefore consider how the regulator can work with companies and investors to ensure companies do not accumulate unmanageable levels of debt”.”
House of Commons20 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I share the love expressed in the Chamber for the Drinking Water Inspectorate, particularly for Marcus Rink and all the work he does, and the inspectorate is looking carefully into that matter as well. One of the things that we promised in the Water (Special Measures) Act were powerful new customer panels to ensure that customers are at the heart of company governance. Some first accountability sessions will be held in spring 2026, requiring customers’ views to be taken into account in company decision making and allowing those customers to hold companies to account—one of the many things that was in that Act. While we are on the situation that the hon. Member for East Grinstead and Uckfield (Mims Davies) faced, I will mention the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells (Mike Martin), whom we spent rather a long time with over the last few weeks.”
House of Commons20 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I have huge sympathy and support for the hon. Lady and her constituents in the situation that they have faced in the last few weeks and I understand the urgent need for compensation, not just for her residents, but many of the neighbouring constituencies. She mentioned that it is the first time that Ofwat has ever done an investigation into whether a company is still complying with its licence to operate. It is looking at the customer part of the operation licence to see whether or not the company is complying; that is the first time that has ever been done. The Consumer Council for Water is visiting the Tunbridge Wells area to hear direct testimony from people about how they have been treated and how the situation has impacted them.”
House of Commons20 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“He is right that there should be clear consequences for failure, and he will be pleased to know that following the Water (Special Measures) Act, the Environment Agency is on track to deliver 10,000 inspections in the year ’25-26. That is a massive increase on the previous year’s 4,600 inspections; we are more than doubling inspections of water companies. We are also doubling compensation because, sadly, we have seen that the doubling of compensation for customers who face supply outages or receive boil notices is desperately needed. I would like to be in a situation—as we will be when we implement all these measures—where we do not need to compensate customers because we are not continually seeing failure. But until that moment, I will continue to work hard, push on and deliver the changes that the industry so desperately needs.”
House of Commons20 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“In relation to the River Tyne in particular, I encourage him to speak to his water company and find out exactly when it will upgrade those storm overflows, so that he can see tangible progress in his area. We have also doubled the funding for catchment partnerships, which is great news where we have those, particularly in rural areas. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Monmouthshire for her work on the Bill Committee and for the work that she continues to do in championing the River Wye. She is quite right that rivers do not obey geographical boundaries, so we have to work together. I put on record my thanks to the Welsh Government for all the work they have done. We have worked together on many different measures and will continue to do so. I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase for his work on the EFRA Committee.”
House of Commons20 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“As the right hon. Gentleman has noted, I cannot speak about live investigations, but I will reflect on what he outlines. The hon. Member for Epping Forest (Dr Hudson) mentioned livestock and its importance, something that came up a lot during our many calls. Yes, we need adequate water for people, but there have also been many animals in distress. We will carry out pilots across the country to look at the new regional regulatory structure and how we are going to make it work. That is a massive opportunity for Members across the House to get involved. My hon. Friend the Member for Hexham (Joe Morris) was talking about rural communities being supported and ensuring that we have emergency provisions for livestock.”
House of Commons20 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons12 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons12 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons12 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons12 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I have met Ofwat representatives to discuss my concern about the company’s performance, and have asked them to look into whether it is meeting its obligations in respect of serving its customers.”
House of Commons12 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am with the hon. Lady wholeheartedly. I completely understand the anger and frustration that she feels on behalf of her local residents who are once again experiencing problems with this company. As I have said, the short-term factor is the freeze and thaw, but the longer-term factors are the lack of resilience in the company and the fundamental problems that it has. We need to address that on a systemic basis: we need to set resilience standards, so that a maintenance system that is “fix on failure” becomes a proactive system. The hon. Lady is right to raise the problems surrounding this company. It is already being investigated by the Drinking Water Inspectorate because of the earlier issues in Tunbridge Wells, and the inspectorate will conduct further investigations.”
House of Commons12 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank my hon. Friend for the leadership that she showed in her constituency during the Christmas period. We had all hoped to have some time off, but she had to reopen her office to communicate with residents. She is right to say that we need to learn lessons. What frustrates me more than many other things is the fact that the same problems are being caused by the same companies when it comes to communicating clearly and adequately with residents and ensuring that they know who their vulnerable customers are. I want our forthcoming White Paper to consider whether we have all the powers that we need, but, as I have said, the Drinking Water Inspectorate will be conducting its own investigation of what happened in Tunbridge Wells over Christmas and what is happening currently, and I do not want to get ahead of that.”
House of Commons12 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Gentleman is right to mention that this is having a huge impact on the welfare of animals, so the water company needs to take it seriously. I hope that, following this urgent question, it intends to do so.”
House of Commons12 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“On when we expect the situation to return to normal, I sent the latest sitrep to all the MPs affected and I will continue to do that. We are having another strategic group meeting with everybody tomorrow to see where the situation is in the next 24 hours. I do not expect all this to be resolved in the next 24 hours, which is why I am holding another meeting tomorrow. South East Water should phone each individual Member of Parliament impacted and update them on what is happening. Finally, livestock were mentioned by a number of colleagues on yesterday’s call. South East Water is supporting 11 farms with bottled water, and it has made some deliveries of alternative water to farms across the region, but the hon.”
House of Commons12 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Member for East Grinstead and Uckfield (Mims Davies) said that we need to make sure that we have bottled water in villages in more rural areas, and I have raised that directly with the company. As the shadow Minister rightly pointed out, it is difficult for some people to get to the bottled water stations, so we want to make sure that we have them in the right places. I have told South East Water that I expect it to communicate regularly with its Members of Parliament to make sure that the stations are in the right places and that it is sharing intelligence about that. I completely agree with him on communication: there has not been enough use of social media and the website has been too slow to update. There should be much more and much clearer communication going to Members of Parliament.”
House of Commons12 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his kind comments regarding my father. We have doubled the amount of compensation available. That has had a huge impact, particularly in Tunbridge Wells, where for the first time people will be compensated for being on a boil notice. We are looking at tightening resilience standards. As I mentioned earlier, it is about moving from the system that we have at the moment, which is “fix on failure”, to proactive maintenance. Part of the reason for this problem—aside from the short-term impacts of freeze and thaw—is that there is not enough long-term resilience in the system. There are too many points at which it can easily fail. The hon.”
House of Commons12 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I will be asking it to look at whether it thinks this company has met its obligations in serving its customers, and I will be reflecting deeply and seriously on what it tells me.”
House of Commons12 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the hon. Lady for her kind words. I completely share the frustration; it would be nice not to be talking about South East Water in the House. I feel I have come to know the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells (Mike Martin) very well for the sad reason that we seem to be meeting all too frequently about problems in that area. As I have said, the Drinking Water Inspectorate will be investigating the situation in Tunbridge Wells. One thing it will look at is bottled water and its supply to vulnerable people—has that been communicated well; has there been a sufficiency; is it in the right place?—because during a crisis it looks at whether people are getting the water they need, so that investigation will take place. As I have mentioned, I have already met Ofwat to share some of my concerns about performance issues at the company.”
House of Commons12 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question, and yes, we have been spending a long time talking to each other. I watched the EFRA Committee with great interest, particularly when Dave Hinton rated himself eight out of 10. It is really important that the Drinking Water Inspectorate has the space to do its investigation. It is also really important that Ofwat has the space to have a look at this company. My priority here and now is trying to get people’s water back on and the system up and running, and that is where I want to focus my time, but there are questions to be asked about why we are back in this situation again.”
House of Commons12 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“There is no justification for its failure to get water to vulnerable customers or people who need it, and I will be picking that up directly with the company as soon as we are out of this latest crisis.”
House of Commons12 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the hon. Lady for her question. I know she raised on the call her concern about livestock and the impact on animals. Water companies have a statutory duty to provide wholesome water—it is literally their job to provide that—and their requirements are set out in the security and emergency measures direction. They have a duty to provide water, so during a supply outage they have a duty to provide water to vulnerable customers and people who cannot otherwise access it. The Drinking Water Inspectorate will be looking at where we have seen failings. Quite frankly, this is outrageous and it is unacceptable. I accept that the company cannot be held responsible for the freeze and thaw, but if there is a problem with the supply for whatever reason, it can be held responsible for the way it has responded to the crisis.”
House of Commons12 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We can only build a resilient system if we are able to move water around some of the network. On the hon. Lady’s other points, the impact on schools is obviously appalling, especially at the moment as I know many pupils are doing their mock exams—my daughter has been doing hers as well.”
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“The hon. Lady is quite right: it is a fragile supply system. We have had years of under-investment in resilience and there are too many points in the system where it can fail. It is not resilient. Other parts of the country are able to move water more effectively around their system, which creates much greater resilience. This system simply does not have the resilience it should. That is partly because of the historic problems around maintenance—historically, all water companies fix on failure, rather than undertake proactive maintenance—and partly because the system, as it is set up at the moment, does not allow the easy transfer of water across an individual water company. These are fundamental things that we need to address through our water reforms and changes in regulation.”
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“I completely share the hon. Lady’s outrage. When communication was specifically requested by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary, we asked for that information to be made available to Members of Parliament. A bottled water station was requested—it beggars belief, to be honest. As I have said, Ofwat and the Drinking Water Inspectorate will be looking into this matter. I will be reflecting seriously on the information and reports that both organisations give me.”
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“Two fundamental things the Drinking Water Inspectorate will look at are how well or otherwise the company has supplied water to people on the vulnerable register and how well or otherwise it has made bottled water available. Quite frankly, I am as outraged by this as the hon. Gentleman.”
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“One of the reasons we introduced the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 and the bonus ban was exactly to ensure that people who get a bonus have earned it and that people who have not earned one do not get one. That seems a pretty straightforward way of doing things in my mind. This goes back to the point made by colleagues across the House that water companies should be talking to Members of Parliament about where they need to put bottled water stations and what is the most effective place for that. Water companies have a statutory duty—it is not just that they can if they want to—to supply water to people in the event of supply outages.”
House of Commons12 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗