Speeches by Pakes.

“In some earlier answers, you talked to Jenny and others about the importance of collaboration, working together, and consultation. Can I ask you about a particular example which my exceptional colleague, the hon. Member for Lowestoft, has been raising with me, knowing my interest in the issue? She says Kessingland in h…”

“In terms of customer satisfaction in the region, we are holding you to a high level because of your background in infrastructure. We have some critical infrastructure coming—the South Lincolnshire and the Fens reservoirs—which should be here already. One of the problems is that we have not invested in our infrastructur…”

“We have asked this question of several companies: the business plan suggests you will retain a gearing level close to 70%, when Ofwat is recommending a gearing level of 55%. We covered this yesterday and in the previous session but, in your words, is that a sustainable approach, and can you explain your credit rating’s…”

“As a CEO, do you understand the frustration many customers—businesses, farmers and domestic customers—feel between responsiveness of what they see as the logo of Anglian Water and then these big, opaque structures, and how the two do not seem to join together?”

“We have asked this question of several companies: the business plan suggests you will retain a gearing level close to 70%, when Ofwat is recommending a gearing level of 55%. We covered this yesterday and in the previous session but, in your words, is that a sustainable approach, and can you explain your credit rating’s…”

“As a CEO, do you understand the frustration many customers—businesses, farmers and domestic customers—feel between responsiveness of what they see as the logo of Anglian Water and then these big, opaque structures, and how the two do not seem to join together?”

“From my estimation, about a quarter of customers’ bills are currently used to service your debt levels. Do you think that is the right place for customers when we look at our bills?”

“If we invite you back next year, do you think you would be able to say it is a simpler structure that we would understand, or is it a longer-term ambition to simplify?”

“Nice to have you here, Mark. We have met previously, and there is a real sense of purpose that comes through from the frontline staff I have met at Anglian, either locally or more closely in the region. I have a couple of questions about bigger structure stuff because sometimes there is a dissonance between the frontli…”

“I recognise that there has been some change in corporate behaviour and that you are new. We often ask about executive pay and bonuses, and the particular case of your predecessor receiving, I think, a £300,000 bonus. Then, the following year there was a decision where a bonus was not paid out. Is that a policy that ext…”

“Ofwat has said that in 2023-2024 you were the third worst performer. In its latest report, the EA says that you are one of four companies responsible for 90% of the serious pollution. My figures here say that over the last 15 years Anglian has been found guilty of 74 different breaches in environment law and has paid f…”

“We have seen this in a number of companies: when we talk about the basket of measures which lead to either executive pay or dividends, and then we talk about pollution, the two things seem completely disjointed. It is about understanding the corporate. Is the actual measure of pollution a direct factor in your dividend…”

“At what point would your environmental performance matter in terms of the dividends you are paying?”

“I will try to be brief and mindful of time. I hope you can understand why we are asking these questions around environmental performance and financial performance. These are big issues for our constituents and the public, rightly so, and it does sometimes feel like these discussions are a bit like play your cards right…”

“So it is long-term regulated as opposed to in-year performance? Your answer in a slightly less gameshow, more “Yes, Minister,” way of answering was that it is regulated, therefore that does not matter.”

“At what point would your environmental performance matter in terms of the dividends you are paying?”

“How does that relate then? What is the direct link in that answer to hundreds of thousands of litres of raw sewage being pumped out? Is the direct link that the performance measure is so low that it does not matter, or is it that the direct link is not direct?”

“Let us be really specific. We have all talked about really significant sums of raw sewage. We can say that is part of a basket of environmental measures. Does the amount of raw sewage that gets pumped out by yourselves as a company have a direct link to how you pay dividends?”

“Do you understand why people are really angry in this country at big profitable companies such as yourselves taking out huge dividends that can then sit here and just say no to something of national significance?”

“Heidi, as chief executive, you have just heard a colleague on behalf of your company say it does not matter; it is not taken into account. How comfortable are you at looking us and the public in our eyes and saying, “In our model, it does not matter how much sewage we pump out; that is an irrelevant factor to the amoun…”