Speeches by Tufnell.

“On that leakage point, it has risen by 15% since 2019, which I think is one of the worst performers in the industry. What steps are you going to be taking in order to get that back on track?”

“I am glad you have mentioned Ofwat because in December last year, the chief executive of Ofwat—who has given evidence before this Committee—said it was indefensible that for five years, you misled customers and regulators on your record for tackling leakage and saving water. You have talked about transparencies to this…”

“Finally on this water security point, there has been an increase in water consumption by over 3% when you compare that to the baseline. To what extent do you take responsibility for that?”

“The three-year average target for 2023-24 was 130 litres per head per day.”

“We have been talking a lot about investment and enhancement in the north-east and in the south-east. Is there a danger of a two-tier rail network emerging in Wales? What are your thoughts on that potential?”

“It is very helpful and much appreciated. I had a question around the rail network enhancement pipeline. The previous iteration of this Committee said in 2021 that it was concerned about this. It said it was too slow and hampered rather than helped. How could the RNEP process be changed to accelerate the process of deli…”

“Can I just piggyback off Andrew’s question on the criteria that you set out about those projects in respect of the business case? How are more rural areas best positioned to put their case in terms of GVA increasing connectivity within the framework? We talked about reliability west of Swansea as an example.”

“Will the proposed Rail Reform Bill give Ministers in the Welsh Government statutory powers in relation to GBR Cymru?”

“I have a question around Great British Rail. How will the creation of Great British Rail change the way in which infrastructure and maintenance enhancement is delivered?”

“Christine, I do not want to labour the point too much, but in the recommendations of the Farming Community Network’s bovine TB report, I was struck by the executive summary which talks about authoritarian interference and the progress towards control as both confusing and unreliable. I wonder what your response was to …”

“Finally, it would be very helpful if you could speak about how you are working with the devolved Administrations.”

“Finally, it would be very helpful if you could speak about how you are working with the devolved Administrations.”

“Can you just give a brief outline about what those interventions were? I remember talking to some of your union reps and they mentioned about a ceiling. There was an element that that would mean they would leave because there was that ceiling in terms of the progression. They felt there was not progression.”

“Christine, you have been very vocal. Last year, you told the EFRA Committee—this former Committee—that the veterinary workforce shortage was around 11% or more. Could you also elaborate on the questions I asked Jenny around those challenges you are facing and how they affect our ability to respond to diseases?”

“Christine, the salaries aside, do you think there is a broader problem with recruitment and retention, just because the numbers seem quite startling?”

“In the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, 45% of leavers had been in the profession for four years or less. Then, in terms of the registrations from the European Union, in 2016 you had over 50% of annual registrations from the EU and less than 50% coming from UK veterinary schools. Are those figures that you recogni…”

“You mentioned the education point. I was wondering what the potential closure of the Cambridge Vet School tells us about the state of veterinary education in the UK.”

“We have talked about the problems with recruitment, but you do not view a vet school potentially closing as a significant issue in terms of trying to meet the challenges that the profession faces at the moment.”

“I am conscious of time but I just want to touch on the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 before I go back to the Chair. We heard from Sarah Tomlinson earlier around TB testing: the pressure on vets to conduct TB testing and the discrepancy between time spent on it and income made. What are your thoughts in terms of the bene…”

“This is to both of you: how are you improving farmers’ confidence in the Government’s new strategy for eradicating bovine TB? The context of this is wide, but we have also heard this morning from a panel who talked very emotionally about the impact on the industry and on farmers, so if we could just start off with that…”