Speeches by Dollimore.

“Are you confident that an incident like this cannot happen again?”

“Making customers aware of a change that is harmless and is not an issue with the drinking water is one thing, which I think is what you are talking about there. What controls are now in place for when people phone up your helpline to say, “My water has suddenly got a funny taste”? I appreciate this was not in your area…”

“I want to ask about major incidents that have occurred in your area. There was a particular incident in Wiltshire—in May 2023, I believe—where you were fined £300,000 for supplying water that was not fit for human consumption. This went on for three weeks. Before that happened, customers were complaining for weeks abou…”

“How much does the magazine cost?”

“To Sarah’s point, on the hottest day of the year—19 July 2022—there were 68 sites where sewage may have been discharged illegally because wastewater and rainwater were being combined. That was on a day when, clearly, there was no rain. That is the misleading nature of the advert that the ASA banned. It was saying, “You…”

“I just wanted to probe a bit further, Ruth, on the issue around the TV advert. The Advertising Standards Authority said that that advert needed to come down, as it was misleading to the consumer: it confused the progress you had made, and implied you had made a lot more progress than was the case on tackling sewage. Ho…”

“There were other issues as well. It thought it was confusing to imply that you were operating on 21st-century practices when actually there are still issues with wastewater and rainwater being combined and going out together. That was the issue that the ASA was getting at. We need to get to the root of this, because wa…”

“How much does the magazine cost?”

“I have called this debate about Owens in Hastings, the short-lived family fun factory whose boarded-up front is a familiar and depressing sight to anyone who has walked through our town centre. We are certainly not the only town to have experienced boarded-up shopfronts, which have become all too common on high streets…”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his passion about his area and about improving it. It is so true that where money is spent properly, in conjunction and collaboration with the priorities of local people, we see people really feeling a difference in their community. That is why when I speak to my constituents, it is so fr…”

“My constituents in Hastings, Rye and the villages are fed up with the constant failures of Southern Water: dumping sewage in our sea, flooding, and leaving us without water for days—all while taking huge bonuses. We on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee have been hauling in the water bosses one by one an…”

“For all the talk of levelling up from the Conservatives, I gently remind them of my Hasting and Rye constituents’ experience of levelling up: £150,000 of taxpayers’ money was given to a Conservative donor to improve Hastings town centre, and all we have left as a result is a boarded-up shop. I really welcome the Minist…”

“Constituents driving to Hastings down St Helen’s Park Road are confronted by the sight of a dilapidated London double-decker bus that has been left by the side of the road for years because local councils have refused to do anything about it. Some residents of St Helen’s Road are forced to live opposite that monstrosit…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered women’s health. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. “Women’s pain is too often dismissed, recorded as emotional, misunderstood and misdiagnosed. It’s got to change.” Those are the words of my friend, Professor Geeta Nargund—an expert in women’s health, w…”

“So no external lawyers were used.”

“It would be fair to say that, although none of us represents Windermere, we all agree with you that it is a national treasure. You just had a discussion with Jayne about the data from Windermere and exposing what has been going on there. How much did you spend on legal fees in the battle to withhold the information bef…”

“The point that I am trying to make is that that investment is happening because of the work of those campaigners, and an acknowledgement of that is very important.”

“Would you agree that, were it not for their action and their dedication, the scandal would not have been exposed and that we would not know what has been going on in Windermere?”

“It would have been better to put your hands up at the beginning, release the data and work with the local groups and campaigners. It would be fair to say, from what we have just heard, that it is only because of those campaigning groups such as Save Windermere, different charities that have been campaigning and Feargal…”

“Can we have an estimate of how much of your internal legal team’s time was taken up by that decision and that process?”