Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, (a) what recent assessment her Department has made of adequacy of the ecological health of chalk streams; and (b) what steps she is taking to meet Environment Act 2021 targets for their recovery.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under the Environment Act 2021, a legally binding target was set to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment from agriculture entering the water environment by 40% by 2038. We have committed to a review of the Environmental Improvement Plan which will set out how Defra will deliver our ambitious Environment Act targets to clean up our waterways.
This Government is already taking action to restore our chalk streams to better ecological health. Our Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan ensures chalk streams are prioritised for improvement as part of the record £11 billion investment to improve nearly 3,000 storm overflows in England and Wales. We are reducing the risk of harmful abstraction by an estimated 126 million litres daily by 2030 through the amendment of water company abstraction licences, protecting vital water flows to these fragile ecosystems.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the UK’s reliance on imported produce from countries facing high climate-related agricultural vulnerabilities.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
To ensure a consistent supply of food, the UK relies upon a combination of strong domestic production from the UK’s agricultural and food manufacturing sectors, and a diverse range of overseas supply sources. Trade supports UK food supply resilience. This is due to the UK having diverse trade routes, strong international supply and purchasing power.
At home, the Government’s recently published Good Food Cycle identifies priority outcomes for resilient domestic production for a secure supply of healthier food, and also to create conditions for the food sector to thrive and grow sustainably, including investment in innovation and productivity, and fairer more transparent supply chains. We have allocated £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to expand phosphorus reduction targets to include smaller upstream wastewater treatment works.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Phosphorus levels in treated wastewater are monitored by the Environment Agency (EA), and the discharge of phosphorus from wastewater treatment works is managed in accordance with discharge permit conditions, also enforced by the Environment Agency.
The Environmental Improvement Plan sets an interim target to reduce phosphorus loadings from treated wastewater into freshwaters in England by a 50% reduction by 31 Jan 2028.
This will be delivered – along with the long-term target of an 80% reduction by 31 December 2038 – through upgrades to wastewater treatment works as part of the usual water company business planning cycle. The EA will support the upgrades by introducing new or strengthened phosphorus limits to wastewater treatment works’ permits, including at many smaller treatment works, requiring them to actively take steps to reduce phosphorus pollution for the first time.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the £104 billion investment in water and sewage infrastructure announced in July 2025 is aligned with figures proposed in water companies’ most recent Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All English and Welsh water and sewerage companies published their final Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans (DWMPs), which informed the 2024 periodic review.
These DWMPs were produced on a voluntary basis to industry-led guidance. The current cycle of DWMPs, which is now statutory, is supported by new Government guidance [Guidelines for Statutory Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans (DWMPs) - GOV.UK]. This cycle of DWMPs will inform the next periodic review and related water company infrastructure investment.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of designating all chalk streams as protected habitats under a bespoke legal framework.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Chalk streams are a source of national pride, and this Government is committed to protecting these iconic British waterways for future generations. We have announced an ambitious programme of reforms to clean up our rivers, lakes, and seas for good: we will ensure that chalk streams benefit from this era of reform.
Chalk streams are already recognised by decision makers in planning as valued landscapes and sites of biodiversity value. Local Nature Recovery Strategies, which are being rolled out across England, will enable decision makers to identify and protect chalk streams as areas of importance for nature. At present, 8 chalk streams have additional SSSI or SAC designation, which offers enhanced protection and the setting of bespoke environmental targets.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the Environment Agency increases (a) routine monitoring and (b) inspection of rivers.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Water (Special Measures) Act has introduced independent monitoring of every sewerage outlet, with water companies required to publish near real-time data (within an hour of a discharge occurring) for all emergency overflows, matching the pre-existing duty and meeting the government commitment to ensure monitoring of every outlet.
The Environment Agency (EA) has increased its water quality charges to £149 million from 2025-26, ensuring water companies pay the cost of regulating the sector. These charges include permit charges on water companies for inspections and the new enforcement levy, which will enable EA to recover the costs of their enforcement activity.
The Independent Water Commission has examined how to strengthen the regulation and delivery of water services to better support long-term water security, sustainable growth, and environmental protection. The Former Secretary of State provided an Oral Statement to Parliament in response to the final report and government will be taking forward a number of recommendations.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to address (a) over-abstraction, (b) phosphorus loading, and (c) urban development pressures on chalk streams.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Restoring our chalk streams to better ecological health is a core ambition of our overall programme of work to clean up rivers, lakes and seas for good.
We are tackling one of the biggest threats to chalk streams by reducing harmful abstraction by an estimated 126 million litres daily by 2030, protecting vital water flows to these fragile ecosystems. In June 2025, the Environment Agency (EA) updated its National Framework for Water Resources, which sets out the importance of chalk streams and how we will include their needs in all water resources planning and decision making.
The government recognises that nutrient pollution is a key pressure affecting chalk streams. Under the Environment Act 2021, we have a legally binding target to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment from agriculture entering the water environment by 40% by 2038.
With regard to impacts from urban development, the EA is a statutory consultee for planning applications and advise on the potential environmental impacts of a development, including matters relating to water.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 has made an assessment of the potential impact of (a) drought, (b) flooding and (c) rising temperatures on the UK’s top 10 fruit and vegetable supplier countries.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK has a resilient food supply chain and is equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption. Our food security is built on supply from diverse sources, strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes.
Defra has commissioned research to gather evidence which explores how climate change could affect the production of fruit and vegetables in regions across the Mediterranean.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to mitigate risks to delivery of proposed water infrastructure upgrades arising from the financial instability of water companies.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Water companies’ delivery of infrastructure and improved water demand management to secure our water supplies is a top priority and will be supported by our reforms of the sector.
Defra work with regulators to closely monitor delivery through annual reviews of how companies against their targets. If they are not meeting their targets, they will receive a joint regulators letter setting out what they are failing on and when they must rectify these issues.
We have established a ministerial Water Delivery Taskforce to monitor and intervene in projects that are essential for growth.
This will also work alongside the regulators to hold the water companies to account to deliver their PR24 plans and scrutinising the costs of major projects in PR24.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 press release entitled Roadmap to rebuild trust in water sector unveiled in major new report, published on 21 July 2025, what proportion of the £104 billion water infrastructure investment will be funded by (a) water companies, (b) the public purse and (c) private third-party investors.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Over the next five years water companies will spend £104 billion on investment and operation combined. This is more spending than at any previous price review.
Ofwat set out in its final determinations that £44 billion of this spending would be on new infrastructure and resources.
In the first instance, this will be provided by private investors. Ofwat has estimated that investors will provide £12.7 billion in new equity during the spending period. The remainder will be funded by water companies, in part through debt in order to spread the costs of investment over the lifetime of the new assets.
In line with the funding model for the water industry, debt and equity investors will be repaid over time through customer bills.
Business plans for all water companies have been published by Ofwat.
Water company investment plans will require no contributions from general taxation.