Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take with (a) the Environment Agency and (b) Ofwat to ensure water companies comply with the terms of their permits.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency's (EA) annual water company inspections have intensified, with 4,000 planned for the end of March 2025 already completed, and a further 10,000 inspections in 2025/26. The evidence they gather will inform future annual performance assessments, investment plans and proactive enforcement action.
The Water Special Measure Act will enable the EA to build on its biggest ever transformation in the way it regulates the water industry, enabling them to uncover more non-compliance and ultimately drive better performance. The Act will enable them to take action faster and with more impact.
Ofwat does not have a role in monitoring or enforcing individual environmental permits, that is a matter for the EA. Ofwat may have a role if a water company is breaching legal obligations that Ofwat is responsible for enforcing.
Ofwat has an on-going enforcement action against wastewater companies relating to compliance with wastewater obligations that Ofwat is responsible for enforcing, details of which can be found online: Investigation into sewage treatment works and sewerage networks.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
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 22 February 2025 to Question 32541 on the Chalk Stream Recovery Plan, whether any of the chalk stream projects in receipt of funding from the Government's Water Environment Improvement Fund in the 2024-25 financial year are located in the Newbury constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This financial year, there are over 45 chalk stream projects receiving funding from the Government's Water Environment Improvement Fund, each leveraging private investment and delivering on our commitment to ensure clean water for the future.
The River Shalbourne is a chalk stream within the Newbury constituency. In 2024/25 £80,000 of WEIF Capital funding was granted to Action for the River Kennet to deliver the River Shalbourne River and Floodplain Restoration project. This project restored a section of the river to more natural conditions by ‘remeandering’ (creating bends in the river) and reconnecting the river to the floodplain. These new wetlands will provide benefits including increased water storage, drought resilience and reduction of sediment and nutrient run-off. This work has addressed pressures which will support WFD (Water Framework Directive) element improvements (currently at Moderate WFD status).
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of new GIS flood mapping on housebuilders' ability to secure affordable insurance for new homes.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Flood risk is an important consideration in the planning system. The Government has committed to ensure we are building more high-quality, well-designed and sustainable homes and creating places that increase climate resilience and promote nature recovery.
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is clear that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided by directing development away from areas at highest risk, including floodplains. Where development is necessary, and where there are no suitable sites available in areas with a lower risk of flooding, local planning authorities and developers should ensure development is appropriately flood resilient and resistant, safe for its users for the development’s lifetime, will not increase flood risk overall and will provide wider sustainability benefits.
The Environment Agency maps show the risk of flooding to areas of land although cannot assess specific risk to individual properties. They do not show where has or has not flooded before.
On the 25 March 2025, the Environment Agency intends to publish updated flood zone data on the ‘Flood map for planning’ which will support developers and planners to find the data they need to undertake flood risk assessments.
Many insurance companies use their own flood risk maps and data, alongside a combination of risk information, to determine insurance premiums.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to implement the Environmental Land Management scheme options.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes remain at the centre of our offer for farmers and nature, putting us on the path to a more resilient and sustainable farming sector.
We now have more than half of farmers in an ELM scheme, including over 36,00 farmers in an SFI agreement. We are continuing to progress with the launch of Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier, and the first farmers and land managers started the required pre-application process in January. Similarly, we are continuing to progress Landscape Recovery with the first projects moving into their implementation stages this year.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 will be implemented.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is strongly committed to requiring standardised Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) in new developments. These should be to designs that cope with changing climatic conditions as well as delivering wider water infrastructure benefits, reduce run off and help to improve water quality, amenity and biodiversity. It is also important to ensure appropriate adoption and maintenance arrangements are in place.
We believe that these outcomes can be achieved through either improving the current planning led approach using powers now available or commencing Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. A final decision on the way forward will be made in the coming months.
We have made some immediate changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to support increasing SuDS. The NPPF now requires all development to utilise SuDS where they could have drainage impacts. These systems should be appropriate to the nature and scale of the proposed development.
We will review the planning system holistically and consider whether further changes are required to address SuDS when we consult on further planning reform, including national policy related to decision making, in 2025.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress he has made on the Chalk Stream Recovery Plan.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Cleaning up our waters, including iconic sites such as chalk streams is a top government priority. That is why on 23 October 2024, the Secretary of State announced the launch of an independent commission to fundamentally transform how our water system works.
Fixing the systemic issues in the water system is essential to address the multiple pressures facing chalk streams, namely over abstraction, phosphorous pollution and physical modifications of habitats. Restoring our chalk streams to better ecological health is part of our holistic programme of reforms for the water sector.
Alongside this, we are continuing to direct investment to projects that will improve chalk streams. In 2024/2025, there are over 45 chalk stream projects receiving funding from the Government's Water Environment Improvement Fund, each leveraging private investment.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing penalties for water companies that discharge sewage into (a) watercourses and (b) coastal waters.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
For too long, water companies have pumped record levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas.
The Water (Special Measures) Bill will deliver on the Government’s commitment to put water companies under special measures. It will drive meaningful improvements in the performance and culture of the water industry as a first important step in enabling wider, transformative change across the water sector.
The Bill will provide the most significant increase in enforcement powers for the regulators in a decade, giving them the teeth they need to take tougher action against water companies in the next investment period. This includes giving environmental regulators powers to impose penalties on the civil standard of proof, in addition to new automatic penalties. The regulators will also be able to recover costs for a much greater range of enforcement activities.
In October 2024, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Welsh Government, launched an Independent Commission on the water sector regulatory system, to fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.
In August 2024, Ofwat proposed that Thames, Yorkshire and Northumbrian Water be fined a total of £168 million for failing to manage their wastewater treatment works and networks. These proposed fines were subject to a public consultation and so are currently draft; Ofwat are reviewing responses before making their final decisions.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will hold discussions with Ofwat on the potential impact of the levels of Thames Water's (a) debt and (b) dividend payments on its customers.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Water companies are commercial entities, and it would be inappropriate to comment further on the specific situation of any individual company.
We understand the financial pressures hardworking families are currently facing and we are pushing the sector to ensure support is available for vulnerable customers who are struggling to pay their bills.
We have also been clear that the payment of dividends that do not take into account performance and service delivery for customers and the environment is disgraceful, and we share the public’s anger on this.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress has been made on Project Groundwater in Lambourn Valley.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Project Groundwater is funded by the £150 million Flood & Coastal Resilience Innovation programme, managed by the Environment Agency (EA). The programme includes 25 local projects around the country that are testing practical ways of bolstering resilience to flooding and coastal change.
Project Groundwater has produced a new community-level, automated groundwater flood warning system, www.projectgroundwater.co.uk/floodwarning. This went live as a trial in the Lambourn Valley on 4 December and the EA are currently collating feedback for the next phase of improvements. The next key output will be new improved groundwater flood risk maps which are expected to be published in February. The project has also been gathering data via a Flood Experience Questionnaire, to target invitations for property flood resilience surveys in the new year, helping us to develop trials of community flood resilience measures. The project is also seeking to identify locations for nature-based solutions to help with groundwater flooding.
Collectively all aspects of Project Groundwater will have longer term benefits to the Lambourn Valley. These include ensuring groundwater is robustly addressed in planning applications whilst better understanding the mental health impacts of groundwater flooding.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
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 is taking to increase the cleanliness of rivers.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
For too long, sewage and pollution have contributed to the uncleanliness of our rivers, lakes, and seas.
The Water (Special Measures) Bill will deliver on the Government’s commitment to put water companies under special measures. It will drive meaningful improvements in the performance and culture of the water industry as a first important step in enabling wider, transformative change across the water sector.
The Secretary of State has also commissioned a full, independent review of the water sector to shape further legislation that will transform how our water system works and clean up rivers, lakes and seas for good.
Defra and its Arm’s-Length Bodies continue to work with farmers to tackle agricultural pollution through a suite of regulations, advice and incentives; this includes the rollout of Environmental Land Management schemes.