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Committee publication · Correspondence · 1 May 2026

Correspondence to The Trustees of NatWest Group Pension Scheme regarding the EFRA Report and the South East Water leadership accountability

From: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Inquiry: Reforming the water sector

Summary

The EFRA Committee writes to the Trustees of NatWest Group Pension Scheme—a significant shareholder in South East Water—following publication of its critical report on the company's failures. The Committee seeks the Trustees' assessment of current leadership capability and their intended shareholder action to address governance, accountability, and service delivery deficits identified in the report.

Key findings

  • The EFRA report is highly critical of South East Water's performance, governance, and leadership, raising serious concerns about the company's ability to provide reliable, resilient, and accountable service.
  • The Committee calls for urgent leadership change at South East Water.
  • Problems at South East Water are characterised as symptoms of deeper weaknesses in leadership, planning, and accountability—not operational inconvenience.
  • The Committee questions whether current leadership is capable of addressing the identified problems and restoring public, regulatory, and investor confidence.

Tone

Critical

Topics

water-utilitiescorporate-governanceleadership-accountabilityenvironmental-regulation

Key actors

EFRA Committee, Alistair Carmichael MP, NatWest Group Pension Scheme Trustees, Rick Haythornthwaite, South East Water

Notable line

“… problems at South East Water should not be treated as matters of operational inconvenience, but as symptoms of deeper weaknesses in leadership, planning and accountability.”

Key Quotes

“The Committee's report is highly critical of South East Water's performance, governance and leadership.”
— Alistair Carmichael MP · Outlining the nature of the Committee's findings
“The Committee would like to underline that the problems at South East Water should not be treated as matters of operational inconvenience, but as symptoms of deeper weaknesses in leadership, planning and accountability.”
— Alistair Carmichael MP · Emphasising the systemic nature of South East Water's failings
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Source · parliament.uk record ↗