Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her planned timetable is for publishing her Department's full response to the Biodiversity Net Gain consultation.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
On 15 April 2026 we published the Government response to the summer 2025 consultations: BNG for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) and Improving BNG implementation for minor, medium and brownfield development.
On the same date we launched a new consultation on an additional targeted exemption for residential brownfield development, which closes on 10 June 2026.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her department has had with Ofwat, the Environment Agency, and Natural England regarding the application of the duty of candour to water companies in relation to the duties and offences in the Public Office (Accountability) Bill.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government set out its new vision for water through a White Paper published on 20 January 2026.
To truly turn around the water sector we need the right people in to do the job. We want the sector to be attractive to high quality senior leaders, acting in the public interest, who can lead change from the top.
To achieve this, the Government committed in the White Paper to consider taking forward a new regime for senior accountability. This would be carefully designed to ensure senior leaders are directly accountable for the service customers receive, whilst still allowing water companies to appoint capable leadership.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to introduce a formalised interdepartmental framework to help prevent gaps in planning between her Department and the Home Office on issues with potential animal‑welfare impacts.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A formalised interdepartmental framework is not required. Defra works closely with the Home Office across a range of policy areas where there are potential animal welfare impacts. Moreover, Government policy proposals are subject to the standard processes of collective agreement which provides a further opportunity for departments to coordinate effectively and ensure that any cross-cutting issues are fully considered.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
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 make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies on pollutant reduction within river improvement programmes of the report by the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology entitled Review of the Classification Framework for Ecological Status/Potential under the Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) England and Wales Regulations, published in July 2025.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In 2025, the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH) published an independent review of the suitability of the Water Framework Directive ecological classification framework for measuring and assessing the health of the water environment. Among its suggestions was to employ a ‘surface waterbody biodiversity audit’ to inform policies on reducing pollution to the water environment.
We committed in the recently published Water White Paper to explore setting new ambitious targets for the water environment and are considering a wide range of inputs as part of these explorations, including the UKCEH report. Meanwhile, we continue to work towards our obligation to secure continuous improvement for the water environment.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the water regulator replacing Ofwat will have prosecution powers.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has set out its ambition to create a powerful new water regulator, bringing together the relevant functions from the existing regulators (Ofwat, the Drinking Water Inspectorate, Environment Agency and Natural England) into one new body. This will replace the current fragmented system with one regulator capable of integrated management of the water system.
Defra is developing the design and operating model of the new regulator and will ensure the regulator has robust enforcement powers. These reforms will be set out in a future water reform bill.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps is she taking as a result of HM Governments report titled Global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security, published on 20 January 2026.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Nature security assessment forms part of routine cross-government resilience planning and complements the UK’s National Security Strategy, National Risk Register and Chronic Risk Analysis.
Climate change and nature loss act as risk multipliers, increasing pressures on food systems, water security and global stability. Assessing these risks helps ensure the UK is better prepared to anticipate, respond to, and mitigate future challenges.
Defra, along with other Government Departments, is already taking action to address the potential risks identified in the assessment.
Internationally, the UK is investing in forest and ocean protection and is on track to invest £11.6bn of International Climate Finance between 2021 to 2026, including £3bn for vital habitats such as tropical rainforests, and marine ecosystems, and to support indigenous communities.
The UK is also taking action domestically: tree planting in England is at its highest rate in over twenty years; we are restoring peatlands, improving water quality, protecting pollinators, and have introduced landmark legislation to safeguard our marine environment.
We are strengthening supply chain resilience through the Critical Imports and Supply Chains Strategy and supporting food security by backing British farmers through new technology, streamlined regulation, and nature-friendly farming schemes that reward sustainable production.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
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 publish a timeline for the UK and Welsh Governments to jointly publish the 2026 Transition Plan, accompanied by interim strategic guidance for the current regulators, and to introduce the Water Reform Bill to Parliament.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Transition Plan is part of our plan to reform the sector and will be published in due course. It will describe the transitional arrangements to enable the stable, successful delivery of reforms, and will be accompanied by a new Strategic Policy Statement for Ofwat and a Ministerial Direction for the Environment Agency.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
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 provide an update on her Department's work with FTI consultancy on contingency planning for potential collapse of Thames Water, including (a) spend so far (b) planned spending, (c) number of hours billed to date, (d) number of consultants who have worked on the account and (e) the date the contract was agreed.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We work closely with FTI Consulting in their role as the Government’s advisor on Special Administration Regime contingency planning and continue to monitor the situation.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
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 9th December 2025 to question 97007 on Bathing water (Amendment) (England and Wales) Regulations 2025, when she will publish the detail on Bathing water status reforms included in the Water White Paper.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Water White Paper sets out wide-ranging reforms to the water system, intended to clean up our rivers, lakes and coastal waters. The Bathing Water (Amendment) (England and Wales) Regulations 2025 do not feature in the white paper, but form part of this wider reform, as an early step towards these same objectives.
In our response to the consultation on amending the bathing water regulations, the Government noted the support for expanding the definition of a bather to include other recreational water users. Work has begun on an evidence review to consider the environmental and public health implications of any change.
Link to 97007: Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, (a) what estimate she has made of the proportion of the £104 billion investment package that will be funded through higher customer bills rather than through water company capital investment and (b) what safeguards will be put in place to protect consumers from bill increases linked to the £104 billion investment programme.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has secured a record £104 billion investment package to upgrade England’s water infrastructure by 2030. This investment will be funded through a combination of water company capital investment and customer bills, but the precise split cannot yet be confirmed. Affordability must be at the core of any future investment plans, and proposed bill impacts will be assessed through the statutory impact assessment for the Water Reform Bill.
The Government have already taken action to protect customers. Funding for vital infrastructure is now ringfenced so it can only be spent on upgrades that benefit consumers and the environment. Where companies fail to deliver promised investment, they will be required to return money to customers through lower bills.
Alongside this, we are strengthening safeguards for households, including reforms to WaterSure, expanding social tariff support, and introducing a new independent Water Ombudsman to ensure complaints are resolved quickly and fairly.