Speeches by Tufnell.

“Can I take a step back for a second, thinking long term over the course of this policy? We have quite a unique agricultural sector in this country because of the way in which land is owned which is different if you look at Europe or the US, for instance. We have talked a lot about organisations that do not die. I am in…”

“I refer the Committee to my declaration of interest. Jeremy, you talked about England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Is there any way that we could get specific figures in respect of Wales?”

“Can I take a step back for a second, thinking long term over the course of this policy? We have quite a unique agricultural sector in this country because of the way in which land is owned which is different if you look at Europe or the US, for instance. We have talked a lot about organisations that do not die. I am in…”

“I refer the Committee to my declaration of interest. Jeremy, you talked about England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Is there any way that we could get specific figures in respect of Wales?”

“I think that there are added protections for workers’ rights and the environment. I would be interested in the other panellists’ views. Guto or Victoria, it would be helpful to hear your views on the freeport and those questions I asked initially.”

“Can I ask a follow-up about how you view the difference between the English freeports as they are currently set up and the ones being set up in Wales?”

“Good morning. I would like to ask about freeports. Tax reliefs were announced in the Budget, specifically around enhanced capital allowances or employer NICs for new employers. I wondered what your view was on how effective those tax reliefs would be for driving up investment and employment in south Wales and west Wale…”

“My parents and my brother own and run an 895-hectare mainly arable farm in Gloucestershire. My parents also own 10 hectares in Pembrokeshire, which they let out to a local farmer. I have no financial interest in either of those holdings.”

“I wanted to ask for your views on the impact of Welsh language and culture as an effect of this policy, given that there is a disproportionate number of Welsh speakers working in the agricultural sector. I think that Farming Connect came up with 43% compared with 19% in the general population. I wanted to ask for your …”

“On the relaunch of the IPO with Thames Water, will those costs be recoverable under the Water (Special Measures) Bill?”

“You talked about relaunching Thames Water under an IPO. Will the costs of that be recoverable under the Water (Special Measures) Bill?”

“You will still be impacted by those costs, right? If it is relaunching under an IPO, there would still be an impact on—”

“Does the Water (Special Measures) Bill allow you to get those costs back? Are they recoverable?”

“Just following on from the point around it being a crowded space from a regulatory point of view, do you think there has been a democratic deficit and lack of accountability, particularly with Ofwat? We have had a huge amount of anger from the public. You are here today. What are your thoughts about that democratic def…”

“You talked about greater oversight in terms of performance. I wonder about those investment cycles. I think you have a five-year investment cycle. Is there a case to be made for a longer term investment cycle that would enable a longer term view from the individual water companies?”

“My question is about supply chain; you mentioned the supply chain. What is Ofwat’s role in the supply chain? Often water companies are very keen to hide behind supply chain—if there is an issue that has been happening with sewage discharge, they say, “There’s a delay on the supply chain so the sewage has to keep going …”

“On the relaunch of the IPO with Thames Water, will those costs be recoverable under the Water (Special Measures) Bill?”

“You talked about relaunching Thames Water under an IPO. Will the costs of that be recoverable under the Water (Special Measures) Bill?”

“You will still be impacted by those costs, right? If it is relaunching under an IPO, there would still be an impact on—”

“Does the Water (Special Measures) Bill allow you to get those costs back? Are they recoverable?”