New independent Customer Scrutiny Committee established to hold Southern Water to account

A new independent Customer Scrutiny Committee has been set up to challenge Southern Water on its customer and community-impacting decisions. 

The initiative comes as part of the Government’s Water Special Measures Act and aims to better challenge and scrutinise water companies on important topics like investment plans, pollution, bills and the way they respond to loss of water supply incidents. 

The independent committee will work on behalf of Southern Water’s customers. It will review the company’s decision-making and provide meaningful support and advice to ensure it always puts its customers first. 

Meetings will take place every three months and will be live streamed so customers can listen in.  

The new group has been established by Dan McDonald, CEO of Citizens Advice Medway and a local councillor, who will serve as Chair of the independent Panel. Dan brings many years of experience as a passionate advocate for vulnerable people, along with a strong track record of holding organisations to account through his work on various scrutiny and oversight committees.  

His leadership will ensure the Panel begins its work with a clear focus on fairness, transparency, and meaningful challenge. The committee brings together a diverse team of professionals with extensive experience and a strong customer-focused ethos.  

It includes a senior leader from a major UK charity with expertise in corporate services; a retired long-serving officer in local government with deep knowledge of democratic services; and a successful businesswoman with national-level experience in customer service training and workforce development. 

Also on the panel is a healthcare professional with decades of experience as a GP and a passion for promoting health and wellbeing, alongside a seasoned HR specialist with a proven ability to build strong stakeholder relationships and navigate complex issues. 

To mark the launch of the panel, members were given a tour of Southern Water’s largest wastewater treatment works at Peacehaven near Brighton, hosted by CEO Lawrence Gosden, and Chief Customer Officer Antonia Barton. 

Dan McDonald said: 

“This is a genuinely bold and much-needed step forward. The strength of this committee lies in its true independence - our members are not here to rubber-stamp decisions, but to challenge, question, and help drive improvement on behalf of customers and communities. 

“It’s been reassuring to see Southern Water welcome this new way of working with openness and transparency. That willingness to be challenged shows a real appetite for change - and we intend to make the most of this opportunity to ensure that customer voices are heard, respected, and acted upon.” 

Antonia Barton, Chief Customer Officer, added: 

“This new customer panel is hugely important to us, as we look to engage further with customers and improve our performance.  We’re keen to listen to their concerns and act on them where we can - and most importantly, make sure we’re always putting our customers first. 

“This initiative will not only shape our plans but also allow us to re-examine where things aren’t working as well as they should be so we can make the changes needed.”