Agenda item

1. Mr Brice proposed and Mr Streatfeild seconded the following updated motion to the motion that was published as part of the agenda. The updated motion was agreed in advance by the proposer and the seconder alongside the Administration and other relevant Political Groups. This was circulated to Members prior to the debate.

 

“The Council expresses:

 

1.    Its formal thanks to KCC Staff who have worked to help local people during this major incident.

 

2.    Its deep concern about the approach of South East Water and its failures to deliver a vital service to Kent residents.

 

3.    Support for any formal investigations or inquiries into South East Water failures in the last few years.

 

The Council calls for:

 

4.    The establishment of a Short- Focussed Inquiry by the Scrutiny Committee. This inquiry should seek:

 

·       To identify what lessons were learned but not enacted between 2022 and 2025.

 

·       What can be learned from the recent water outage in Tunbridge Wells (and elsewhere in Kent within recent years), including steps required to prevent recurrence of similar incidents and measures to build greater resilience particularly for care homes, schools and other KCC services.

 

·       How KCC can best contribute to effective support and relief efforts in the event of similar incidents in the future.

 

5.    The Council Endorses the Leader’s call on the Government to:

 

a)    Establishes a dedicated compensation/ recovery fund to provide meaningful and urgent financial relief to affected businesses and residents. Others have called for a “covid style support” officer and urgent action is required to support the liquidity of businesses and the financial wellbeing of our residents who have subsidised this failure. As part of this, South East Water should immediately address the cashflow issues for businesses.

 

b)    Ensure that any costs incurred by public service partners are reimbursed in full by South East Water.

 

c)    Ensure that the necessary capital expenditure is prioritised by South East Water to ensure that there is a permanent resolution to this issue and to shore up the fragility of water supply in Tunbridge Wells.

 

d)    Work with Ofwat and the Drinking Water Inspectorate to ensure a swift, full and transparent investigation into the causes of the failure and the adequacy of South East Water’s response.

 

e)    Consider legislative or regulatory reforms to ensure greater accountability and resilience in the water sector, particularly in light of repeated failures by South East Water in recent years.

 

6.    The Council requests that;

 

·       The Chief Executive arranges for appropriate officer to draw the minister’s attention to the Council’s resolution.”

2. Following the debate, the Chairman put the motion in paragraph 1 to the vote and the voting was as follows.

 

 

For (71)

 

Mr J Baker, Mr B Barrett, Mr B Black, Mr O Bradshaw, Mr A Brady, Mr M Brice, Mr M Brown, Mr D Burns, Mr C Burwash, Mr A Cecil, Mr P Chamberlain, Mr W Chapman, Mr B Collins, Mr J Defriend, Mr S Dixon, Mr M Ellis, Ms S Emberson, Mr J Eustace, Mr L Evans, Mr P Evans, Mr J Finch, Mr R Ford, Ms B Fordham, Mrs G Foster, Mrs M Fothergill, Mr M Fraser Moat, Mr B Fryer, Mr M Harrison, Mr S Heaver, Mr J Henderson, Mr C Hespe, Mr M Hood, Mr A Hook, Mrs S Hudson, Ms L Kemkaran, Miss I Kemp, Mr A Kennedy, Mr A Kibble, Mr P King, Ms M Lawes, Mr T Mallon, Mr R Mayall, Mr T Mole, Mr J Moreland, Ms D Morton, Mr M Mulvihill, Ms C Nolan, Mr P Osborne, Mrs C Palmer, Mr R Palmer, Mr M Paul, Ms B Porter, Mr T Prater, Ms A Randall, Mr A Ricketts, Ms S Roots, Ms C Russell, Mr C Sefton, Mr T Shonk, Mr D Sian, Mr M Sole, Mr R Streatfeild, Dr G Sturley, Mr P Thomas, Mr D Truder, Mr R Waters, Mr P Webb, Mr N Wibberley, Mr N Williams, Mrs P Williams and Mr D Wimble.

Against (0)

 

Abstain (0)

 

Motion carried.

 

RESOLVED that Council expresses:

 

1.    Its formal thanks to KCC Staff who have worked to help local people during this major incident.

 

2.    Its deep concern about the approach of South East Water and its failures to deliver a vital service to Kent residents.

 

3.    Support for any formal investigations or inquiries into South East Water failures in the last few years.

 

The Council calls for:

 

4.    The establishment of a Short- Focussed Inquiry by the Scrutiny Committee. This inquiry should seek:

 

·       To identify what lessons were learned but not enacted between 2022 and 2025.

 

·       What can be learned from the recent water outage in Tunbridge Wells (and elsewhere in Kent within recent years), including steps required to prevent recurrence of similar incidents and measures to build greater resilience particularly for care homes, schools and other KCC services.

 

·       How KCC can best contribute to effective support and relief efforts in the event of similar incidents in the future.

 

5.    The Council Endorses the Leader’s call on the Government to:

 

a)    Establish a dedicated compensation/ recovery fund to provide meaningful and urgent financial relief to affected businesses and residents. Others have called for a “covid style support” officer and urgent action is required to support the liquidity of businesses and the financial wellbeing of our residents who have subsidised this failure. As part of this, South East Water should immediately address the cashflow issues for businesses.

 

b)    Ensure that any costs incurred by public service partners are reimbursed in full by South East Water.

 

c)    Ensure that the necessary capital expenditure is prioritised by South East Water to ensure that there is a permanent resolution to this issue and to shore up the fragility of water supply in Tunbridge Wells.

 

d)    Work with Ofwat and the Drinking Water Inspectorate to ensure a swift, full and transparent investigation into the causes of the failure and the adequacy of South East Water’s response.

 

e)    Consider legislative or regulatory reforms to ensure greater accountability and resilience in the water sector, particularly in light of repeated failures by South East Water in recent years.

 

6.    The Council requests that:

 

·       The Chief Executive arranges for appropriate officer to draw the minister’s attention to the Council’s resolution.