Defra Secretary of State the Rt Hon Steve Reed MP will appear in person before the House of Commons Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs tomorrow where he will face questions on the water sector and the situation at Thames Water.
The evidence session is part of the EFRA Committee’s ongoing inquiry launched in November 2024 into the Work of the Department and its arm’s-length bodies.
The cross-party group of MPs will question the Minister in a wide-ranging evidence session which will examine the work of the Department, topical issues, and future priorities.
The Committee is also likely to pose questions to the Secretary of State on the UK-EU summit, which takes place today.
In their session on Tuesday, the MPs will also likely probe the areas of trade, farming and farm profitability, precision breeding, climate adaptation, animal welfare, and the circular economy.
Witnesses appearing before the Committee at 11am on 20 May in Committee room 6, Palace of Westminster are:
- Rt Hon Steve Reed MP, Secretary of State, Defra
- David Hill, Director General for Strategy and Water, Defra
- Emily Miles, Director General for Food, Biosecurity and Trade, Defra
Last week Thames Water chiefs endured an intensive two hour evidence session when they appeared in person before the EFRA Committee as part of its separate ongoing inquiry into Reforming the Water Sector.
Thames Water CEO Chris Weston, CFO Steve Buck and Chair Sir Adrian Montague CBE faced detailed questioning on issues including executive bonuses and pay packages, the pension fund, the non-functioning Beckton desalination plant, an emergency £3 billion loan, around 100 delayed AMP7 projects, investors, levels of company debt, discussions with Ofwat over penalties and the selection of infrastructure investor KKR as the sole preferred bidder.
Click here to watch tomorrow’s evidence session on the Work of the Department live on parliamentlive.tv
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