On Thursday in Parliament there is a session of Business of the House which is organised by Penny Mordaunt, the Leader of the House of Commons and one of the MPs who contributed was Sally-Ann Hart the Conservative MP for Hastings and Rye. Sally-Ann also referred to a colleague of her who is Robbie Moore who is the MP for Keighley in West Yorkshire. The comment she raised here about burst water main is very significant for a number of locations so this is very interesting for many of us and Penny states “She will know how to apply for a debate in the usual way.”

Sally-Ann: The Leader of the House may be aware that Hastings, St Leonards and some surrounding villages suffered the consequences of a burst water main over the bank holiday weekend, depriving tens of thousands of residents and businesses of running water, and impacting Hastings’ famous and amazing Jack in the Green weekend and May day celebrations. While Southern Water acted promptly in finding and fixing the leak—and I thank the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend Robbie Moore for their huge support—can we have a debate about investing in water infrastructure, including building new reservoirs and maintaining existing infrastructure, and the impact of ageing infrastructure on water supply reliability?

Penny: I am very sorry to hear about the situation that affected my hon. Friend’s constituents so adversely. She will know that the infrastructure plan that is under way to modernise our waste water system and other water systems is the largest infrastructure project of its type in the world. She can follow the progress of that infrastructure plan on Water UK’s website. In particular, the plan on combating storm overflows is there for the general public to see. I will ensure that the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has heard the particular case that she raises. She will know how to apply for a debate in the usual way.