ANTONIA BANCE MP: THE RESPONSE OF SOUTH STAFFS WATER TO THE BURST WATER MAIN IN WEDNESBURY WAS TOO SLOW, INEFFECTIVE AND SECRETIVE

‘In these circumstances the incident response is the water companies' responsibility, which in this case was South Staffs Water. It is expected that they work effectively with local partners, including MPs, and keep regular communication with us and the public.

When the deadline South Staffs Water told residents for water supply being restored didn’t come through, communication became non-existent. We then lost confidence that water was going to be restored and took immediate action to set up a community space at The Sons of Rest in Wednesbury, which was run by my staff, councillors and volunteers.

I want to thank all the volunteers, councillors, my staff, and all the frontline workers who responded, including police, firefighters and engineers for stepping up and going beyond, where South Staffs Water let us down. We are proud to be Sandwell, our community response was incredible.

We were told South Staff Water were delivering water directly to all vulnerable residents affected. We will be asking for more information.

I will make sure that questions are asked, and I will be meeting Ministers tomorrow to make sure we hold South Staffs Water accountable for their response.’