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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to answer Written Parliamentary Question UIN 123113.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Written Parliamentary Question UIN 123113 was answered on 16 April 2026.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the principal statutory duties are of Thames Water Utilities Limited's licence.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Under section 37 of the Water Industry Act 1991 a water company has the duty to ensure the supply of water within its area of appointment and to develop and maintain an efficient and economical supply system for that purpose, as well as to ensure arrangements have been made for maintaining, improving and extending its water mains and other pipes.

In addition, under section 94 of the Water Industry Act 1991, a water company that also holds a sewerage appointment has the duty to effectually deal with the contents of sewers and provide the necessary infrastructure for that purpose.

All water and sewerage companies have the same statutory duties.

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 Answer of 21 April to Question 127788 on Water Companies: Prosecutions, of the 37 completed prosecutions against Water and Sewerage Companies since 27 March 2020, how many of these prosecutions were for offences that took place before 27 March 2020.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Of the 37 prosecutions since 27 March 2020, 32 prosecutions were for offences that took place before 27 March 2020, and 5 prosecutions were for offences that took place after 27 March 2020.

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 Answer of to Question 122633, on Water Companies: Repairs and Maintenance, whether her Department will publish the initial cost information on ending operator self-monitoring that has been provided by the Environment Agency.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government has committed to ending Operator Self Monitoring. The Environment Agency has provided early, high‑level indicative cost estimates to support the Department’s initial exploration of options for future monitoring arrangements. These figures were produced to give a broad sense of potential scale only. Further work is now underway to develop and refine the policy options and to produce more detailed and robust costings.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to answer Written Parliamentary Question UIN 124051.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Written Parliamentary Question UIN 124051 was answered on 28 April 2026.

Found: Shrewsbury) Jonathan Davies (Labour; Mid Derbyshire) Carla Denyer (Green Party; Bristol Central) Barry Gardiner

Found: Shrewsbury) Jonathan Davies (Labour; Mid Derbyshire) Carla Denyer (Green Party; Bristol Central) Barry Gardiner

Found: Barry Gardiner: It has been about 20 years, hasn’t it?

Found: Shrewsbury) Jonathan Davies (Labour; Mid Derbyshire) Carla Denyer (Green Party; Bristol Central) Barry Gardiner

Found: Q121 Barry Gardiner: Tell us about pollinators and the impact on pollinators.

Found: meeting Members present: Mr Toby Perkins (Chair); Julia Buckley; Jonathan Davies; Carla Denyer; Barry Gardiner