Speeches by Tufnell.

“It is just because you are only meeting six out of 12 of your key performance statistics. I do not want to relitigate everything that we just talked about.”

“I just want to try to understand something, just to begin with. You are one of the top performers for outcome delivery incentives. That allows higher bills as a reward for good performance. I am just trying to understand which metrics, in terms of that outperformance, justify the extra funding.”

“Maybe we will be able to get clarity if you provide this in writing.”

“It affects the asset value of the company. That has an impact on the retained earnings, which then feeds into the profits and the dividends.”

“Yes, we have no comparison.”

“I am not asking about like-for-like. This is a very specific question.”

“I am struggling because, without the amount, in 2023-24, your retained earnings would reduce from £1.68 billion to £7.9 million. Profits over the same period were £1.246 billion. Effectively, Severn Trent Water paid out £369 million more than it made in profit in that period. That is the issue, and that is the bit that…”

“Would you say that Ofwat is almost trying to be too ambitious in terms of pushing that down when trying to get that investment?”

“I just wanted to touch on this gearing issue and break it down a bit more. We heard yesterday from Yorkshire Water, which was much more comfortable with 70%. Ofwat has set out that it wants gearing of 55%. You are at 67% and want to get down to 64%. Is Ofwat wrong to have this level of 55%, if we are hearing from you t…”

“We live in uncertain times, and as a nation we face many challenges ahead. For one, there is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The impact on our domestic energy prices has shown the extent of our reliance on the international oil and gas markets. Since 2022, gas prices for households across the country have spiked, and the…”

“The fishing industry has a great history in my constituency, and it is vital that the Crown Estate takes on board the issues in the fishing industry when it looks at leasing and consenting. I thank the hon. Gentleman for that intervention. I am grateful also to the Minister for his assurances in Committee that the publ…”

“I thank the right hon. Lady for her intervention. I sometimes feel, though, that the ideas of her party are slightly for the birds. The idea of devolution—where is their plan? There is no plan. What are the practicalities?”

“The issue, though, is the practicalities. Is the hon. Gentleman going to draw an artificial line in the Celtic sea? What about the issue of consenting? What would that do for the leasing rounds, when certainty of investment for the private sector is so critical at this stage? Furthermore, other Government agencies and …”

“I have a quick follow-up. Steve mentioned the inquiry we have had on cross-border; in it, we talked about the process of complaints management and the bureaucracy in terms of patient funding requests for cross-border referrals, and you also mentioned digitisation. How confident are you that the health boards and trusts…”

“I have a question about farm funding and the removal of the ringfencing. I am keen to understand your thoughts on that.”

“Can I quickly follow up? The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs gave evidence to the EFRA Committee, which I sit on. He set out there that there would be an appropriate level of funding for that in respect of the Barnett consequentials. Have you had any conversations with him? Would you express …”

“No; the UK Government have put more discretion in the hands of the Welsh Government over farm funding. It was originally bypassing the Barnett formula, and it will now come in as part of Barnett consequentials. I am keen to understand what your thoughts and views on that change are.”

“I want to touch on the UK Steel Council, which was launched by the UK Government last month. It is expected to advise on rebuilding the industry and developing its upcoming steel strategy in spring. Can you set out the responsibilities and interests of the Welsh Government in relation to the future of steelmaking in Po…”

“You talked about clean energy. I want to ask you about skills. There was an exciting announcement last month: Pembrokeshire has been identified as a key growth region for clean energy. There is £1 million of funding available for skills. How will the Welsh Government prioritise that money in respect of skills mapping i…”

“How does the task and finish group interact with the Welsh Government’s net zero skills action plan?”