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 25 June 2026 to UIN 10802, what criteria her Department uses to make decisions on publishing such information.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government judged that publication of the information requested would not be appropriate as its disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.
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 question asked by the hon. member for Henley and Thame during a statement to the house on 16th June by the Secretary of State on Thames Water, if she will publish outputs of work commissioned from FTI consulting on planning for Thames Water being taken into a Special Administration Regime and confirm how much has been spent on contingency planning.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is preparing for all eventualities including special administration. The work done by FTI would not be appropriate to make public. It would also not be appropriate at this time to make public the current spending on contingency planning.
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 contingency planning her Department has undertaken to monitor and improve Thames Water’s Asset Health Index in future.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In line with Section 2 duties of the Water Industry Act 1991, the Secretary of State has given her preliminary views on the London and Valley Water Consortium’s Proposal to Ofwat, but it is for Ofwat to decide whether to reject or accept the Proposal.
The Government is overseeing a shift to a system where assets are properly maintained and there are clear standards for companies to meet, supported by improved asset mapping and forward‑looking metrics.
Regulators will continue enforcing standards in full, and companies remain accountable for fixing current problems where performance falls short.
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, with reference to her letter of Monday 15th June 2026 to Ofwat on Thames Water’s performance and infrastructure, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her Department's policies of the company’s Asset Health Index; what steps she is taking to ensure that reductions in asset health are tackled through regulatory and enforcement action; and what action she plans to take if Thames Water’s Asset Health Index further reduces.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In line with Section 2 duties of the Water Industry Act 1991, the Secretary of State has given her preliminary views on the London and Valley Water Consortium’s Proposal to Ofwat, but it is for Ofwat to decide whether to reject or accept the Proposal.
The Government is overseeing a shift to a system where assets are properly maintained and there are clear standards for companies to meet, supported by improved asset mapping and forward‑looking metrics.
Regulators will continue enforcing standards in full, and companies remain accountable for fixing current problems where performance falls short.
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 assessment her department has made of the potential impact of issues raised by the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management, published on 10th June 2026, regarding the proposed area-based exemptions from Biodiversity Net Gain requirements for residential brownfield development on nature recovery; and whether her department plans to withdraw the proposed exemptions in relation to their impact on nature recovery and environmental inequality.
Answered by Mary Creagh
The Biodiversity Net Gain consultation on a potential additional targeted exemption for certain residential brownfield development closed on 10 June 2026 and thank you to all those that responded. Evidence from responses, including a response from CIEEM, are being analysed and the Government will respond to the consultation in due course.
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, when she plans to reply to the letter of 17 April 2026 from the hon. Member for Henley and Thame.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A reply to the hon. Member is being prepared and will be issued as soon as possible.
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, when she plans to implement exemptions of sites below 0.2 hectares from BNG requirements.
Answered by Mary Creagh
Government intends to bring forward secondary legislation to implement the 0.2ha BNG exemption before summer recess 2026, subject to parliamentary scheduling.
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, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in response to the hon, Member for Twickenham during oral questions on 19 March 2026, if she will provide further information on reforms of public health and water including (a) legislation required and (b) timeframe for implementation.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government will bring forward legislation through the Clean Water Bill, announced in the King’s Speech on 13 May, to deliver major reforms to the water system.
Public health will be at the heart of these reforms, alongside measures to strengthen regulation, improve water quality and tackle pollution at source, as set out in the Water White Paper.
Implementation is already underway, with further legislation and reforms delivered over time as part of the Government’s wider programme to reset the water system.
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 provided on the 9th December to question 97007, if she can outline the (a) local and (b) national stakeholders who she will engage with during the initial scoping work and set out a timeline for the initial scoping work .
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Bathing Water Regulations were updated in November 2025 and implementation is underway. Defra, the Welsh Government, the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales have jointly held two stakeholder workshops, with follow-up engagement ongoing. Defra continues to review evidence on the environmental and public health implications of expanding the definition of a bather.
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 provided on the 2nd March to question 115773, to provide an update on the evidence review to consider the environmental and public health implications of a change to expand the definition of bather to include other recreation water users.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Bathing Water Regulations were updated in November 2025 and implementation is underway. Defra, the Welsh Government, the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales have jointly held two stakeholder workshops, with follow-up engagement ongoing. Defra continues to review evidence on the environmental and public health implications of expanding the definition of a bather.