Speeches by Kirkham.

“I read earlier that there is still 30% of the way to go in the last year, so they do seem to be struggling to cope with that, don’t they? They do not seem to be managing to keep up with this level of requirement, so how do you think they will cope in the future?”

“How far have we got? I understand there is quite a long way to go in the last year of the current five years—”

“I have been in a similar position as Helena with South West Water. I represent Truro and Falmouth. We have had outages for days, in the hospital as well, where people have struggled to get water. Now people are trying to get compensation but they have been told there is limited compensation and they are struggling to g…”

“My question is a quick one. Who paid the fees for the judicial review that you mentioned against Ofwat?”

“I was going to ask a bit more about the balance on the board but it seems that there will be movement there anyway. It seems that you are looking at a private company structure that may be moving towards almost a regulated control structure. How far will that go, what will those boards be in the future, who will they c…”

“Reservoirs or desalinisation plants. Sorry, I have finished now.”

“We pretty much had a permanent hose pipe ban last year. The sector is struggling at the moment, so the future—”

“—and had their tariffs changed almost without their agreement. Are they mandatory? We have been told that the water companies have been told to make the changes; that they have to do them. Is that the case or is there leeway?”

“Measures have been quite controversial, haven’t they? People have been put on them—”

“4. Whether she is taking steps to support the participation of small and medium-sized local bus operators in bus franchising schemes.”

“I am pleased to hear that this is part of the consultation on updating the bus franchising guidance. We have some strong local SMEs in Falmouth that provide a knowledgeable, local and flexible bus service, along with community bus services too. Will the Minister please confirm that she will be supportive of that kind o…”

“It is quite important to look at that impact going forward.”

“So that money does not all end up in things like biodiversity banks, for example.”

“I get the water sector part, because Cornwall is surrounded by water on three sides. The Government have announced a major review of the water sector, and the first thing to look at will be the scope. How wide is it? Would the review consider alternative models of water company ownership and maybe complete reform of th…”

“Sorry, I have loads more.”

“Everything is on the table there, so governance, regulation—everything?”

“Ofwat is looking at a price review for the water sector. Obviously, we know that, over the previous years, a lot of money has been taken out of that sector with not much investment. To what extent should consumers now have to shoulder and take on the up-front capital costs, which will be large, to tackle water pollutio…”

“So it is a case of “fix it and they will invest”?”

“I have quite a lot of questions about water. There is a lot of pollution in our inland water, as well as our coastal areas, but it is from different things. It is partly from sewage, but also from agriculture, industry and landfills. What steps are you taking to tackle all of that different pollution?”

“Can I carry on with the last couple of questions, Chair?”