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?”

“The other question, of course, is water demand, which is frustrating when you are getting leakage. It seems harsh to put the onus on consumers. I think all companies now also have targets for reducing consumption. Does the water sector have a general plan for this? Where I am in Southern Water there have been mandatory…”

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

“—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?”

“One last question. I suppose, looking back at that 4 billion litre figure, which is huge, water security and resilience will be such a big thing in the future. How will the sector build to cope with that?”

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

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

“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…”

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

“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…”

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

“Water resilience is the next thing—so drought, flooding, and disrupted water supplies, of which we have had quite a lot lately. What are the Government doing to tackle those three things, which are obviously very different?”

“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…”

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

“Sorry, I have loads more.”

“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…”

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

“The current ELMs system is quite pick and mix—farmers can choose what they apply for. Are you thinking of moving towards a system that may have more of a balance, so that when we have that land management system, we know what we are aiming at and we can assist farmers with knowing where they should put that investment?”

“We are talking in the next session about the advisory services that help farmers to do that, because that is really important.”