Recommendation 15

These failures are symptomatic of significant cultural problems that cannot be readily explained by issues with the wider regulatory framework: this includes South East Water’s failure to engage with external stakeholders, inclination for groupthink, inability to analyse problems, incapability to implement basic changes and a propensity to shirk responsibility. This culture, which permeates through all the company’s key decision- making processes, needs to change, and culture starts from the top. As such, we have no confidence that the executive team at South East Water is capable of this challenge, nor any confidence in the team itself. (Conclusion, Paragraph 77)