Speeches by Bool.

“Just to understand, you say it does not have operational capacity in water, but CKI owns 75% of Northumbrian Water. What do you mean by that compared to the creditors?”

“You said about the due diligence reports and so on.”

“I find this very difficult because it is incredibly serious to get to this stage after 10 weeks—”

“I appreciate that because I completely understand that need for exclusivity and that that is what KKR would want. They want that 10-week period; it is quite common in legal transactions. I have seen that before. What I do not quite understand is once that period ended, why did you not just reopen it and give the other …”

“I just wanted to clarify some timings because when Charlie asked earlier on, you said that KKR submitted its bid to Ofwat on 30 May, but you also said that you were aware of KKR potentially drawing out on 29 May, and then not getting the financing. Can you clarify that?”

“It was not paid for—”

“But the creditors are actually given that information because of the loan structure and funding. There could be questions raised about the comfort that KKR could not get because the creditors ultimately wanted the bid.”

“—and then not be able to get your finances over the board. That is very unusual in this day and age.”

“Members across the House will be familiar with the winter of discontent. In 1979—the year our Chancellor was born—the Labour Government were at the behest of their union paymasters, and refuse piled up across the country. Fast-forward 46 years: we are a year into the Chancellor’s term of office, and we have before us a…”

“I can certainly give you more. The Minister and Government Members rarely want to listen, but I raise these points on behalf of my constituents, who have asked me to do this. I implore the Government: if they want growth, they must take this summer to think again about how to achieve it, or it will be an autumn of angu…”

“22. What plans she has to increase community involvement in the planning process.”

“In Towcester, when the DHL development was going through planning, more than 1,100 residents submitted objections to the council, thousands signed petitions, I spoke on their behalf as their MP against the plans and locally elected councillors voted 11 to one against it at the strategic planning committee meeting, but …”

“I understand that the slightly more controversial element on the global plastics treaty is about having product design standards. I am just conscious of time. Clearly, you said you are supportive of some of these product designs. What one key element would you want included in any design standards that you think would …”

“I understand that the slightly more controversial element on the global plastics treaty is about having product design standards. I am just conscious of time. Clearly, you said you are supportive of some of these product designs. What one key element would you want included in any design standards that you think would …”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Butler. With the weather we are experiencing at the moment, topping out at 33°C here today in London, who needs to travel abroad? We can head to our bars, restaurants, tourist attractions and have a staycation in the beautiful UK. South Northamptonshire has more tha…”

“There would be at least 95 to name. We ask all those who run these businesses to take a risk. We ask them to keep our communities together and to offer jobs, but we do not give them the environment in which to flourish. They are working so very hard, but it is a real struggle with employer national insurance increases,…”

“There are 3,566 veterans in my constituency, of which 28% are disabled. Many are concerned about the future support available to them. Can the Minister assure disabled veterans, not just in South Northamptonshire but across the country, what the Department will do, and that it will not forget them?”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Western. South Northamptonshire is 92% agricultural, forest or semi-natural, so it really is a quintessential rural constituency. It is home to 5,300 businesses, of which 5,200 are small or medium sized. Reports say that almost a quarter of British businesses are in…”

“I have another very quick question. One thing that the Committee is looking at is, if dividends are going to be a future of the water sector, whether there might need to be a floor and a ceiling on dividends as well as on bonuses. Is it feasible to have a ceiling on dividend payments in the future?”

“One thing that we propose is that the regulatory system could be clearer about what debt and bill revenues will be used for. Could or should debt be reserved for enhancement expenditure rather than day-to-day spending?”