Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the policy paper entitled A new vision for water: white paper, published on 20 January 2026, how members of the working groups were selected; which (a) people and (b) organisations participated in the working groups; and if she will publish the minutes of the working groups.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A wide range of stakeholders were consulted on reforms through the Independent Water Commission’s Call for Evidence, which received over 50,000 responses.
While there was not a formal working group for the White Paper, ahead of publication the Government also engaged with stakeholders across the water system, including investors, water companies, consumer groups, regulators and environmental groups.
The Government will continue to work constructively with interested parties on reforms and consult on specific measures as needed.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
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 publish the Water Sector Reform White Paper.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The White Paper will be published early this year.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to stop companies from using biobeads.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Polluting our waterways is unacceptable. It is right that Southern Water has taken responsibility for the incident at Camber Sands, East Sussex, caused by a failure of a screening filter at their Eastbourne Wastewater Treatment Works.
Defra Ministers are in close contact with the Environment Agency, which is now conducting an active investigation into the incident. A decision on the enforcement action will be made in the coming weeks.
The sector must step up to deliver improvements for the benefit of customers and the environment, and we are taking decisive action to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas.
Water companies should take all necessary precautions to ensure all equipment is properly constructed and maintained to prevent the unauthorised or accidental escape of bio-beads from wastewater treatment works into the environment.
The Government is looking into developing new standards for infrastructure resilience which, coupled with robust water company planning through Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans and the new statutory Pollution Incident Reduction Plans, will drive investment to improve wastewater assets and reduce pollution into our environment.
I have written to Water Companies asking them to explain their use of bio-beads in the water industry and alternatives.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
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 4 November 2025 to Question 85834 on Water Companies: Criminal Proceedings, if she will confirm the number of live proceedings which are subject to reporting restrictions by the court.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Details about all open enforcement and customer disputes cases with Ofwat are available on the Ofwat website.
Information about formal cautions and prosecutions carried out by the EA can be found here.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the reasons for the biobeads spill in Sussex.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) has a dedicated investigations team to establish cause, pathway and impact on the environment of this pollution event. As a live investigation, I am unable to publicly share details that may harm the credibility of any case which the EA may later bring to the courts. But I can tell you that EA officers have been working with all local partners on the initial and long term clean up strategy and have gathered the necessary evidence from impacted areas. I note that Southern Water Services have publicly stated that inspections at their Eastbourne works have found a damaged filter screen.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with (a) Ofwat and (b) the Environment Agency on the biobeads spill in Sussex; and whether Southern Water will be fined for that spill.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Environment Agency (EA) officers have been working with all local partners on the initial and long term clean up strategy and have gathered the necessary evidence from impacted areas. The EA will apply their enforcement and sanctions policy when deciding on an appropriate enforcement response.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to publish a list of live legal cases the Government is taking against water companies.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
At the conclusion of an investigation into a water company the Environment Agency (EA) will ordinarily be able to disclose the fact of the live prosecution from the point the information has been laid and summons granted. This is subject to any reporting restrictions imposed by the Court.
Information about formal cautions and prosecutions carried out by the EA can be found here.
For any ongoing criminal investigations into water companies, the EA may be constrained in what it can say in order to ensure that they do not prejudice the ongoing investigations, or any criminal proceedings that may follow. Each investigation would need to be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Details about all open enforcement and customer disputes cases with Ofwat are available on the Ofwat website.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timetable is for the publication for the update Greening Government commitments.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the honourable member to the answer I gave on 30 April 2025 to Question 45716.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timeline is for establishing water consumer panels.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As announced in July 2024, consumers will gain powers to hold water company bosses to account through powerful new customer panels. The Water (Special Measures) Act now provides Ofwat with the power to make rules on company governance, including rules which achieve having arrangements in place for involving consumers in decisions that are likely to have an impact on consumer matters.
Ofwat will conduct a consultation this summer that will determine the new rule and allow for the establishment of the panels.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to monitor the steps water companies are taking to ensure drought preparedness.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Water companies are required to produce drought plans which are a statutory requirement and are expected to be reviewed annually. The Environment Agency (EA) as the regulator request an industry wide annual drought preparedness report every April. This covers companies’ readiness to respond to drought, updates on work it has done to improve its readiness, such as drought permit environmental assessments or training and exercises.
In response to the dry weather this year, water companies are ready to or already have implemented communications regarding drought preparedness. In some areas, companies have stepped up their engagement with customers on using water wisely, managing demand and taking efforts to reduce leakages as part of their drought preparation measures.
The EA continue to work with water companies to ensure they follow their drought plans. Water companies are continuing to attend the National Drought Group meetings to update regulators and stakeholders on the latest dry weather impacts and drought preparedness this summer.