Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) raw sewage and (b) other polluting discharges into (i) rivers and (ii) coastal waters were recorded by (A) the Environment Agency, (B) public and citizen science organisations and (C) South West Water in the area served by South West Water in each of the last five years.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There were 3,466 incidents into a waterbody in the Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly (DCS) area over the last 5 years, of which 929 were related to untreated sewage:
Reported Year | (a) Cat 1-3 incidents with an impact on water | (b) Crude Sewage Incidents in DCS |
2019 | 615 | 183 |
2020 | 658 | 220 |
2021 | 595 | 147 |
2022 | 558 | 120 |
2023 | 701 | 173 |
2024 | 339 | 86 |
Total | 3466 | 929 |
Of these incidents, the following number of substantiated incidents were attributed to South West Water (SWW):
Reported Year | (a) SWW Incidents in DCS | (b) Crude Sewage SWW Incidents in DCS |
2019 | 189 | 147 |
2020 | 233 | 186 |
2021 | 160 | 117 |
2022 | 126 | 75 |
2023 | 222 | 146 |
2024 | 111 | 71 |
Total | 1041 | 742 |
The EA’s area boundaries do not align exactly with water company catchments. This will mean that a small number of incidents will not be included in this analysis.
The use of “other polluting discharges” the EA have taken to mean all other types of pollution incidents into water.
Finally, the EA have included pollution incidents to all types of waterbodies including coastal waters and rivers.
For Part B and C of this question, we do not hold that information, the respective organisations would be best placed to answer.
I would also refer the hon. Member to the Written Statement made by the Secretary of State on 18 July: Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that public bodies sponsored by his Department will be free to fulfil their duties based on evidence and scientific fact.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Several of Defra’s public bodies are Public Sector Research Establishments and form an integral part of the Defra group science system. They share, as part of their remit, a role in providing quality scientific evidence and expert advice to Government in their respective disciplines.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the oral Answer of 29 January 2015, Official Report, column 996, what percentage reduction in badger numbers was achieved in each of the two 2014 pilot culls.
Answered by George Eustice
In West Somerset, the cull company achieved removal of 70% of the estimated starting population of badgers, indicating that industry-led culling can, in the right circumstances, deliver the level of effectiveness required to be confident of achieving disease control benefits.
The results for Gloucestershire show that continued progress is needed taking into account the additional challenges of interference, harassment and criminal damage by activists.
Cull companies were required to provide more detailed information on progress, and based on the information submitted, Natural England were able to build a more accurate assessment of progress. This is described in advice published in August 2014:
As licensing authority, Natural England closely monitored the performance of each cull company and the effort being deployed across the cull area at frequent intervals, taking into account the actual circumstances being experienced by the cull companies.
Details of the number of badgers removed during year two of the culls were published on 18 December 2014, and can be found at:
Defra’s advice to Natural England on setting minimum and maximum number of badgers to be culled in West Somerset and West Gloucestershire in year 2 of the badger culls can be found at the link above. This advice includes a summary of the methods considered by Defra for estimating the badger populations in these areas. The minimum number is intended to correspond to a 70% reduction of the population relative to the initial starting population before the culls started in 2013. The culling objective is for no more than 30% of the starting population to remain on conclusion of the cull.
Based on the population estimation methodology selected, in Gloucestershire, Natural England set a minimum number of 615. At the conclusion of the 2014 cull 274 badgers were removed.
Based on the population estimation methodology selected, in Somerset Natural England set a minimum number of 316. At the conclusion of the 2014 cull, 341 badgers were removed.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the oral Answer of 29 January 2015, Official Report, column 996, when she plans to publish her Department's estimate of the percentage reduction in badger numbers achieved in both pilot cull areas as a result of last year's cull.
Answered by George Eustice
In West Somerset, the cull company achieved removal of 70% of the estimated starting population of badgers, indicating that industry-led culling can, in the right circumstances, deliver the level of effectiveness required to be confident of achieving disease control benefits.
The results for Gloucestershire show that continued progress is needed taking into account the additional challenges of interference, harassment and criminal damage by activists.
Cull companies were required to provide more detailed information on progress, and based on the information submitted, Natural England were able to build a more accurate assessment of progress. This is described in advice published in August 2014:
As licensing authority, Natural England closely monitored the performance of each cull company and the effort being deployed across the cull area at frequent intervals, taking into account the actual circumstances being experienced by the cull companies.
Details of the number of badgers removed during year two of the culls were published on 18 December 2014, and can be found at:
Defra’s advice to Natural England on setting minimum and maximum number of badgers to be culled in West Somerset and West Gloucestershire in year 2 of the badger culls can be found at the link above. This advice includes a summary of the methods considered by Defra for estimating the badger populations in these areas. The minimum number is intended to correspond to a 70% reduction of the population relative to the initial starting population before the culls started in 2013. The culling objective is for no more than 30% of the starting population to remain on conclusion of the cull.
Based on the population estimation methodology selected, in Gloucestershire, Natural England set a minimum number of 615. At the conclusion of the 2014 cull 274 badgers were removed.
Based on the population estimation methodology selected, in Somerset Natural England set a minimum number of 316. At the conclusion of the 2014 cull, 341 badgers were removed.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the oral Answer of 29 January 2015, Official Report, column 996, what steps her Department took to ensure that if pilot culls had achieved the target of 70 per cent reduction in badger numbers in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014.
Answered by George Eustice
In West Somerset, the cull company achieved removal of 70% of the estimated starting population of badgers, indicating that industry-led culling can, in the right circumstances, deliver the level of effectiveness required to be confident of achieving disease control benefits.
The results for Gloucestershire show that continued progress is needed taking into account the additional challenges of interference, harassment and criminal damage by activists.
Cull companies were required to provide more detailed information on progress, and based on the information submitted, Natural England were able to build a more accurate assessment of progress. This is described in advice published in August 2014:
As licensing authority, Natural England closely monitored the performance of each cull company and the effort being deployed across the cull area at frequent intervals, taking into account the actual circumstances being experienced by the cull companies.
Details of the number of badgers removed during year two of the culls were published on 18 December 2014, and can be found at:
Defra’s advice to Natural England on setting minimum and maximum number of badgers to be culled in West Somerset and West Gloucestershire in year 2 of the badger culls can be found at the link above. This advice includes a summary of the methods considered by Defra for estimating the badger populations in these areas. The minimum number is intended to correspond to a 70% reduction of the population relative to the initial starting population before the culls started in 2013. The culling objective is for no more than 30% of the starting population to remain on conclusion of the cull.
Based on the population estimation methodology selected, in Gloucestershire, Natural England set a minimum number of 615. At the conclusion of the 2014 cull 274 badgers were removed.
Based on the population estimation methodology selected, in Somerset Natural England set a minimum number of 316. At the conclusion of the 2014 cull, 341 badgers were removed.