Our Customer and Environmental Scrutiny Panel
It's important to have an independent voice on our performance and future plans.
What is the CESP?
The CESP is made up of independent members who bring a wide range of experience and insight. Their role is to challenge and support SES Water in delivering excellent customer service, and environmental performance aligned with our vision to be an outstanding water company. CESP members meet quarterly.CESP used to be split into two panels, the Customer Scrutiny Panel and the Environmental Scrutiny Panel. This has now been combined into one panel co-chaired by Alison Thompson and Steve Crabb. Minutes and reports from both CSP and ESP meetings can be found below.
The chairs of our the CESP also sit on Pennon’s WaterShare+ Panel. More information on WaterShare+ can be found here.
Reports
Our members
Alison Thompson
Co-Chair of the SES Customer and Environmental Scrutiny Panel
Alison is an experienced Chair, Non-Executive Director and Executive in the utilities, infrastructure and sustainability sectors. She works across both the private and public sectors championing the long-term interests of citizens and the environment. Currently, she is Co-Chair of SES Water’s Customer and Environmental Scrutiny Panel; Member of Pennon Plc's Customer Challenge Group, Water Share +; Cambridge University Faculty as Senior Associate, Lecturer, and Academic Tutor of Executive Education in Sustainable Business, at Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership; Associate Mentor for Executives focusing on diversity and inclusion at EA Inclusion and Director of Welcome Innovation Ltd.
Before this, she held two non-executive public appointments with regulators. She was Chair of the Programme and Investment Committee overseeing efficient and risk-based investment in the local communities' best interests across the whole of the Southern Region as Deputy Chair of the Regional Flood and Coastal Committee on behalf of the Environment Agency.
She also served as Consumer Advocate for the Consumer Council for Water working with all the water companies in the South East. Alison's executive career began at the House of Lords and subsequently has involved strategy, policy and delivery roles with Chime Communications Group, the Environment Agency, National Parks England, Anglian Water, and VisitEngland. Most recently she was Director of Business Transformation at Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership.
Steve Crabb
Co-Chair of the SES Customer and Environmental Scrutiny Panel
Steve is a co-chair of SES Water’s Customer and Environmental Scrutiny Panel (CESP). He is an independent chair and consultant specialising in advocating for consumers in general and customers in vulnerable circumstances in particular. In addition to his work for CESP, he sits on the main WaterShare+ Customer Panel, which represents the interests of consumers across the Pennon Group, which owns SES Water. He is also a non-executive director of Smart Energy GB, the government-backed campaign that promotes smart energy meters, and a strategic adviser to utilities consultancy Sirio Strategies. His consultancy clients have included water regulator Ofwat and the industry body Water UK, and from 2021 to 2025 he chaired a voluntary code for energy suppliers on behalf of Energy UK. He has also held senior roles at British Gas and the Alzheimer’s Society.
Amy England
Independent / Vulnerable Customers
Amy has a background in operations and customer service, she has extensive experience of working with vulnerable people having spent a number of years in management at a major disability charity. During her career Amy has also been a successful fundraising manager and has had responsibility for marketing, including customer communications.
Amy has been a customer of SES Water for seven years, and lives very locally to head office in Redhill with her husband and young son. Outside of work Amy’s interests are spending time with her family, home improvement and spending time in outside spaces.
Bella Davies
South East Rivers Trust
Bella is CEO of the South East Rivers Trust, an environmental charity dedicated to achieving healthy thriving rivers for people and wildlife in the South East of England. The Trust takes a holistic approach to river catchment management and works with many stakeholders and partners to deliver evidence-led action.
Bella has worked in the academic and charity sectors for over 20 years and has held positions on a number of landscape, water and nature conservation committees. She has an MSc in Environmental Assessment and Management and a PhD in managing landscapes to protect freshwater ecology. She is a Trustee of the national Rivers Trust.
Catherine Moncrieff
Independent
Cat is a Charted Water and Environment Manager with over 15 years' experience in the water and environment sector, working across several NGOs including WWF, CDP, The South East Rivers Trust and now CIWEM as their Policy Engagement Manager. She has experience working with corporates and policy makers to bring about systemic change in how water is managed - both globally and in the UK, as well as experience delivering nature restoration projects with local stakeholders. Cat is a trustee of the Chiltern Society and chairs the Chiltern Streams Project.
Chris Hopkins
Nutfield Conversation Society
Chris represents Nutfield Conservation Society, is a village group which seeks to preserve local interests and protect the local environment. He has lived in the area for over 50 years and has been involved in many local issues. Chris is a past district councillor in Tandridge District Council and past chairman of Nutfield Parish Council. Over 40 years' experience has given him particular expertise of water, and geotechnical engineering and environmental issues. He runs a specialist consultancy and is one of the very few engineers licensed by government to be responsible for reservoirs throughout the UK. His hobbies include postcard collecting, morris dancing and socialising.
Sarah Holloway
Independent
Sarah Holloway is an independent advisor on sustainability strategy and purpose-driven leadership, working with senior teams to define their organisation's place in a sustainable world. She’s helped some of the world’s best-known businesses drive transformative change, including Danone, Ella’s Kitchen, C&A and Severn Trent.
Sarah is a former director of sustainability communications agency Futerra and culture change consultancy Kin&Co, and has held senior sustainability roles at Unilever, Tesco and TUI. She sits on Provenance’s Integrity Council, is a trustee of her local repair café, and recently stepped down as Vice Chair of Travalyst’s Independent Advisory group. Sarah holds a Master’s degree in Leadership for Sustainable Development from Forum for the Future.
Trevor Bishop
Independent / Water Resources South East
Trevor has been Director at WRSE since January 2019.
As Director for WRSE Trevor's key responsibilities include strategy and policy for the development of a long-term Regional Resilience Plan across six statutory water companies in the South East of England serving some 20 million people. Trevor is also a Visiting Professor at the University of Exeter.
Prior to his current role Trevor worked at Ofwat, the economic regulator, for three years on long term assignment from the Environment Agency. At Ofwat Trevor's specific areas of work included resilience, environmental delivery, catchment approaches, clean/wastewater planning and aspects of PR19. At the Environment Agency Trevor was Deputy Director of Water Resources which included all aspects of water resource regulation, strategy and operations.
Prior to the Environment Agency Trevor worked for over 10 years in the Water Industry with a wide range of both strategic and operational roles in several water companies. Key areas of responsibility included leakage, customer services, and asset performance. Trevor also supports international engagement and is currently a member of the International Water Associations Strategic Council.
Zoe Channon
Surrey Wildlife Trust
After completing a degree in Biology and Freshwater Ecology, Zoë had a long career in Financial Services as a Management Consultant running large scale business change programmes in Banks and Insurance companies.
In 2012 she undertook a major career change moving from the financial sector to the conservation sector, completing a practical internship with the RSPB undertaking on the ground habitat works, a career with several Local Authorities running their conservation volunteering programmes and finally settling at the Surrey Wildlife Trust in their Estates team in 2017.
Zoë is now the Director of Business Development and Partnerships at the Surrey Wildlife Trust managing a senior team specifically focused on landowner advice ranging from general land management to Nature Based Solutions, Green Finance and new Nature Markets, GIS and mapping and large scale project development.
She co-hosts the River Wey Landscape Partnership and River Mole Catchment Partnership with the South-East Rivers Trust and is the Chair for the River Wey and sits on other external boards including the Surrey Nature Partnership and Nature South-East.
Christine Cleveland
Independent
Christine Cleveland retired from being CEO of a Surrey based charity supporting carers across the age range and after a long career working for various local authorities as a senior executive working in the fields of education, health and social care. She lives in Ewell Village in Surrey close to the wonderful Hogsmill river which is one of only 200 chalk streams in the world. Water services there are supplied by SES water and sewerage services are facilitated by Thames water.
In 2019 she was elected as a local independent councillor for Epsom and Ewell Borough Council representing the Residents Association and acting as an advocate for local residents. She currently chairs the Health Liaison Panel and also is a member of the Environment Committee for the council. She is passionate about supporting vulnerable people and families and preserving the local environment.
Many years ago she worked in the water industry for WRC plc (formerly The Water Research Centre) based in Medmenham, Buckinghamshire. This organisation worked with all the major water providers both in the UK and internationally as well as independent water companies and government scientific bodies.
Until recently she was a Consumer Advocate for London and the South East for the Consumer Council for Water and was involved with the SES Customer Scrutiny Panel.
Beryl Wall
Independent/Customer Research and Engagement
Beryl joined SES Water’s Customer Scrutiny Panel in October 2022 during its PR24 preparations. Before retiring in 2012, she was Associate Director at Accent, a market research agency, where she led studies for clients in utilities, healthcare, and transport, including CCWater, National Grid, Ofgem, Ofwat, TfL, and several water companies.
Her work included research for Price Reviews, studies on household debt among utility customers, evaluations of debt support schemes, and social care research for PSSRU. She also conducted long-term service monitoring and environmental impact studies for National Grid, and explored public attitudes toward urban improvements for TfL.
Since retiring, Beryl has volunteered with Doorstep Library, supported refugees, and now spends her time with her grandchildren, enjoying reading, theatre, music, wine tasting, entertaining, and walking.
Cath Jones
Ex-Officio Member: Consumer Council for Water (CCW)
Cath is the Consumer Council for Water's (CCW) Head of Company Engagement for the South of England. She works with a number of companies, putting consumers at the heart of business decisions, fulfilling CCW’s mission to ensuring people are well-informed, treated fairly and have confidence in their water services.
Cath joined CCW over 15 years ago, as part of the Consumer Relations team, resolving individual customer complaints. Since then, she has held a variety of roles across CCW, working on projects including the introduction of adjudication, sharing best practice across a range of consumer priority issues and improving the end to end customer journey.
Stephen Russel
Ex-Officio Member: Consumer Council for Water (CCW)
Stephen Russell is a principal water company account officer in the Environment Agency, with responsibility for managing the operational relationship with several water and sewage companies / water only companies and tracking their environmental performance. He has worked for the Environment Agency for almost 20 years, holding positions in water resource planning, incident management and team leadership. Before joining the Environment Agency, he worked in local authority development control and protected landscape management.
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