South East Water boss to step down after damning report by MPs

The chief executive of South East Water has announced plans to step down just a week after the group’s chairman quit in the wake of major supply outages in Kent and Sussex.

The supplier said David Hinton, who joined the group’s board in 2013, would stay in post to allow an “orderly transition” over the summer while the group hunts for his successor.

It comes after former chairman Chris Train resigned last week following a scathing report by MPs, who said they had “no confidence” in the company’s leadership.

Bosses at South East Water were grilled twice by MPs on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) Committee over their response to multiple supply interruptions across Kent and Sussex.

Thousands of customers were left unable to access tap water, shower or flush their toilets during the outages between November and January.

Calls had been mounting for Mr Hinton to join the chairman in stepping down.

Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said: “This must mark the beginning of positive change at South East Water, where customers’ needs are prioritised and there is a stop to supply outages.”

Tunbridge Wells community group Dry Wells Action had pressed for the chief executive’s departure, and for the company to appoint consumers to its board as non-executive directors to ensure their voice is “no longer overlooked”.

Efra committee chairman Alistair Carmichael also recently reiterated calls for the chief executive to go.

Mr Carmichael said Mr Hinton had “made the right decision” to stand down.

He urged the water firm’s board to “recruit a new chief executive and get them in place as soon as possible”.

“As we have seen over the last eight years, this is a company that has never been far from serious failure, so competent leadership is urgently needed,” he added.

South East Water said there had been “no disagreement” with Mr Hinton over his resignation.

Lisa Clement, independent non-executive director and interim chairwoman at South East Water, said: “On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Dave for his many years of loyal dedication and service to South East Water Limited.”

In a report, published last Friday, the Efra committee said the company was “devoid of proper leadership” and “riddled with cultural problems”.

“Leadership teams play a major role in how company culture develops; culture change at this scale requires South East Water’s leadership to change,” it said.

The firm was fiercely criticised over multiple failings that led to the outages, as well as its response during the crisis.

These included poor maintenance of infrastructure, failing to monitor critical risks, failing to invest or build resilience and blaming external factors such as climate change and increased demand.

The company was also accused of a disorganised and slow response to restore supply, a lack of communication with customers and insufficient emergency supply through water tankers and bottled water, which left some vulnerable residents without.

Mr Hinton was grilled by the Efra committee in January, but MPs said they had concerns about the accuracy of his evidence and his lack of accountability.

They then recalled the chief executive alongside Mr Train to answer further questions at a hearing earlier this month.

In a contrite appearance, Mr Hinton admitted he “got it wrong” in his handling of the outages, and acknowledged some of the team’s failings.

But in its report, the committee said the leadership demonstrated a clear pattern of obfuscating responsibility and “groupthink”, arguing that this is preventing their ability to analyse problems and learn lessons.

Dry Wells Action said Mr Hinton’s resignation “changes nothing in terms of the risk to our water supply” and called for the Government to halt further large scale property developments.

“We urge them to impose a moratorium on their new homes policy in the South East Water area until it can guarantee water supplies to home existing homes, hospitals, schools and businesses,” the group said.