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Written Question
Reservoirs: Wales
Friday 9th February 2024

Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Welsh Government with regard to the transfer of additional quantities of water from the reservoirs in Wales, or from rivers running from Wales to England, to meet increased water demand in South East England.

Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

As agreed in the Intergovernmental Protocol on Water Resources, Water Supply and Water Quality, Defra and the Welsh Government work closely on water resources management.

Water companies in England and Wales have a statutory duty to provide a secure supply of water for customers, efficiently and economically.

Last year, regional water resources groups and water companies, consulted on their draft water resources plans. These plans set out how each company will secure water supplies sustainably for at least the next 25 years. Within their plans, water companies consider all options, including water demand management and new water resources infrastructure including water transfers. In the latest round of plans, no new additional quantities have been identified to be transferred from Wales to England. A summary can be found at gov.uk.

Ofwat, the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales issued joint water resources planning guidance to water companies, which takes account of policy in England and Wales. They are also statutory consultees on the plans, as relevant. When reviewing the plans, the Environment Agency and National Resources Wales regularly meet to discuss proposals by water companies.


Written Question
Water: Sewage
Wednesday 20th December 2023

Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many prosecutions were made for illegal sewage dumping in each of the water authority areas in England in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Government is holding water companies to account on a scale never seen before and the regulators will not hesitate to hold companies to take appropriate action if they are in breach of their permits and failing to meet their legal obligations. The EA can now use new powers to impose unlimited penalties for a wider range of offenses following Government’s changes to broaden of the scope of the existing civil sanctions regime and remove the previous cap on penalties.

The EA has made 59 prosecutions against water and sewerage companies for pollution offences since 2015, securing fines of over £150m.

Four prosecutions have been concluded so far in 2023 for pollution offences:

  • Anglian Water fined £510,000 on 12 January 2023 and £2,650,000 on 27 April 2023
  • South West Water fined £2,150,000 (for 7 offences) on 26 April 2023
  • Thames Water fined £3,334,000 on 04 July 2023)

More prosecutions are progressing through the court system with hearing dates next year.


Written Question
Reservoirs: Wales
Thursday 16th March 2023

Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Welsh Government regarding proposals being developed by United Utilities, Severn-Trent Water and Thames Water to divert water from reservoirs in Wales to the Thames basin.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

As agreed in the Intergovernmental Protocol on Water Resources, Water Supply and Water Quality, Defra and the Welsh Government work together on water resources management as a matter of course.

Water companies in England and Wales have a statutory duty to provide a secure supply of water for customers, efficiently and economically. Statutory water resources management plans show how companies will continue to meet this duty and manage water supply and demand sustainably for at least the next 25 years. In their plans, water companies must consider all options, including demand management and water resources infrastructure. Collaborative regional water resources groups and water companies have been consulting on their draft water resources management plans. This includes United Utilities, Severn Trent Water and Thames Water.

Ofwat, the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales issued joint water resources planning guidance to water companies, which takes account of policy in England and Wales. They are also statutory consultees on the plans, as relevant. The plans will be referred to the Secretary of State and Welsh Ministers for decisions on whether the plans can be finalised later in the year.


Speech in Lords Chamber - Tue 25 Oct 2022
Environment Act 2021: Targets

Speech Link

View all Lord Wigley (PC - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Environment Act 2021: Targets

Speech in Lords Chamber - Wed 23 Mar 2022
Veterinary Personnel

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View all Lord Wigley (PC - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Veterinary Personnel

Speech in Lords Chamber - Wed 23 Mar 2022
Veterinary Personnel

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View all Lord Wigley (PC - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Veterinary Personnel

Speech in Lords Chamber - Wed 23 Mar 2022
Veterinary Personnel

Speech Link

View all Lord Wigley (PC - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Veterinary Personnel

Speech in Lords Chamber - Tue 25 Jan 2022
Water Industry Reform

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View all Lord Wigley (PC - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Water Industry Reform

Speech in Lords Chamber - Tue 25 Jan 2022
Water Industry Reform

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View all Lord Wigley (PC - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Water Industry Reform

Written Question
Coastal Areas: Sea Level
Wednesday 17th November 2021

Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how much funding they have allocated to protect maritime communities in (1) England, (2) Scotland, (3) Wales, and (4) Northern Ireland, from the effects of rising sea levels.

Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park

The UK Government is responsible for flood and coastal erosion risk management in England. In Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, this responsibility rests with the devolved governments.

This Government is investing a record £5.2 billion in flood and coastal erosion risk management schemes in England. Of this, approximately £1.6 billion will be spent on protecting coastal communities.