Speeches by Reynolds.

“It obviously has become a shorthand for growth, but also living standards. If, as a Labour Government, we want to invest more in public services and reforming them at the same time, we need that growth and the tax receipts that come with it in order to do that.”

“Gosh. Well, thank you for the easy question to start with. That is a really tricky question. I will answer it, but let me first say that, being in government, you realise that some of the challenges we face are very obviously complex and difficult, and that they take time to resolve. I will set out what I would like my…”

“Thank you for that philosophical question. I do not really agree, but I respect the opinion you have just read out. I do think that we can both grow the economy and protect nature, and we have set out some of the measures that we have been taking around the Planning and Infrastructure Act, where we take a different app…”

“Okay.”

“We lead on climate adaptation, but we work very closely with DESNZ. We have talked about David Miliband. I think I am right in saying that, when David Miliband was in post, climate change was still in the purview of DEFRA—it was a long time ago. We work on climate adaptation, but we work very closely with DESNZ because…”

“Can I just say, Chair, that I was not misleading the Committee. There is a difference between the cost of nationalising a big industry of 16 water companies that have private property rights—the cost of running a privatised system versus the cost of running a nationalised system. I am sorry to say that I think Mr Gardi…”

“Yes.”

“I would dispute that.”

“Yes, we have, of the cost of nationalisation—”

“They are disputed figures, as you know.”

“Thank you for the question. It is something that we work on across Government.”

“If you would like to nationalise the water industry, you need to work out which taxes you are going to put up or which areas of public spending you are going to choose not to spend money on. Obviously, nationalising the whole thing would cost an enormous amount of money and take an enormous amount of time.”

“I did answer the question. It is about a timeframe. The money gets put in, and then it is recovered over time.”

“It is the Environment Agency’s purview, but it will also depend on the size of the site and on local authorities.”

“It is complicated because it is about timing. The up-front money comes from the people who have invested in the water companies, but it is recovered over time.”

“As the Environment Secretary, my view is that we have legislation in this country with regard to the environment, and if a company breaks environmental law, it should be held to account.”

“That is why we are also trying to work on prevention, because there are sites that need to be cleaned up. The Environment Agency has committed to cleaning up two sites, the one that you mentioned and Kidlington, because of the exceptional risks there. They have to meet a very high bar. The Environment Agency does not h…”

“Do I think the other regulators have done a good enough job? No. That is why we are completely rewiring the system and setting up a new regulator.”

“There have been some pretty significant arrests in recent weeks as well. The cross-working between our Department, our arm’s length bodies, the Home Office and the enforcement agencies is starting to pay a dividend in holding people to account. However, it is an ongoing piece of work, because we know there are many ind…”

“I have been in role since 5 September, as you know, and we are trying to ensure that we improve the system even before we get legislation. As you all know, having been here longer than I have, it takes quite some time to get legislation through both Houses. Do I think that any of the regulators has done enough? I think…”