Mims Davies, Conservative MP for East Grinstead and Uckfield, welcomes South-East Water's CEO, John Halsall, and hopes it means a much-improved supply and service for customers.
Residents have seen an unacceptable level of outages and water supply issues and it's to be hoped that the new CEO begins to address these with alacrity.
Speaking on the announcement of Mr Halsall's appointment, Mims Davies MP said:
I welcome that South East Water have chosen their new CEO and urge a swift and effective handover.
I know John Halsall from his time at Network Rail and built a positive and constructive relationship with him. He has been previously in the water industry and therefore he knows the significant challenges he will face from day one.
Critically important is for him to build the confidence of household and business customers in their services, communication and abilities. It is essential management now get to grips with the fragility in the infrastructure and the delivery of services across all of their network so that it doesn’t continue to be vulnerable to heat, cold, high winds or ineptitude.
I will continue to stand up for my constituents and their experiences, pushing for the proper compensation some of my businesses are still awaiting, long after the disgraceful January outages.
It’s imperative South East Water build a better relationship with Southern Water and that those in other leadership roles step up too, right across the water sector. It is vital this country is better served by all water companies and tap water is readily available when you need it. Bills have increased significantly and service delivery has simply not matched the bill payers’ expectations.
