Water White Paper

Chi Onwurah Excerpts

Wednesday 21st January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Emma Reynolds]

I agree with the hon. Lady that the water pollution we see in the River Wye is completely unacceptable. That is why we are working closely with the Welsh Government, such as through the £1 million research grant to look at the sources of pollution affecting the River Wye. We are also doubling funding for the Environment Agency to inspect farms so that we have a clearer picture and can better enforce the regulations we already have, and we are streamlining those regulations so that farmers can comply.

The hon. Lady is right that there is a real problem here. I do not count it in the number of words, but there is real action in the document. It sets out what we are going to do to work in partnership with farmers, strengthen regional planning and better target our environmental land management schemes. She will have seen that the environmental improvement plan contains a comprehensive plan to tackle agricultural pollution. I refer her to the document we published before Christmas.

[Dame Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West) (Lab)]

I see that Tory MPs are too scared to turn up to hear how we are cleaning up their mess. As a Newcastle MP, as an engineer and as a cold water swimmer—the North sea is very cold—I welcome the Government’s new vision for water, which will deliver the water my constituents deserve at a price they can afford. I am, quite frankly, tired of the continual chorus that whatever the failure, whatever the fault, the costs must be passed on to the consumer. In a competitive market, consumers can go elsewhere if they do not like the service they are receiving. With water, we have no choice. Will the Minister confirm that if there is a failure or a mess-up by the companies, either they, their shareholders or their management will pay for it, not my constituents?

[Emma Reynolds]

I admire my hon. Friend for swimming in the sea at all times of the year, by the sound of it. This new approach, the overhaul we are announcing in the White Paper, will establish a more powerful, integrated regulator that has more teeth, and a system that puts an end to the water companies marking their own homework—a system in which there is nowhere to hide for poor performance.