Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
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 review the regulations governing the passage of pets to and from the United Kingdom to simplify the process for owners who meet all health and documentation requirements.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government takes the importation of pets seriously and is committed to preserving the United Kingdom’s high standards of biosecurity and animal welfare.
We carefully monitor the effectiveness of our pet travel rules to ensure they safeguard our biosecurity and remain proportionate for pet owners.
As announced at the UK-EU Leaders' Summit on 19 May 2025, the UK and EU have agreed to work towards a common Sanitary and Phytosanitary Area, which will mean taking pets on holiday into the EU will be easier and cheaper.
Instead of getting an animal health certificate each time they travel, pet owners will be able to get a multiuse pet passport valid for travel to the EU. We are expecting to start negotiations in the autumn, once the EU has confirmed their mandate.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps her Department has taken to implement its policy on the reinstatement of UK-issued pet passports for travel between Great Britain and the EU; and what her planned timetable is for allowing pet owners to (a) apply for and (b) use these passports.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As announced at the UK-EU Leaders' Summit on 19 May 2025, the UK and EU have agreed to work towards a common Sanitary and Phytosanitary Area, which will mean taking pets on holiday into the EU will be easier and cheaper.
Instead of getting an animal health certificate each time they travel, pet owners will be able to get a multiuse pet passport valid for travel to the EU.
We are expecting to start negotiations in the autumn, once the EU has confirmed their mandate.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
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 provide an alternative source of funding for local environmental projects in the event that fines on water companies are not sufficient to meet the projected expenditure on those projects.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In June, this Government announced that fines and penalties levied against water companies for environmental breaches will be reinvested into future local environmental projects across the country to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas. These could include local environmental programmes to address pollution and improve water quality. Further details about the projects and programmes to be funded and whether alternative sources of funding will be required will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
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 take steps to strengthen the accountability of water companies for pollution other than by implementing a (a) self-monitoring and (b) fines system.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government has put in place the building blocks to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas. The Water (Special Measures) Act provides 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.
The 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 Act banned unfair bonuses for ten polluting water bosses this year and introduced prison sentences for executives who cover up sewage spills - closing the gaps that have allowed companies to get away with behaviours that are unacceptable.
The Independent Water Commission examined how to strengthen the regulation even further. The former Secretary of State provided an Oral Statement to Parliament in response to the final report and the Government will be taking forward a number of recommendations.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
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 increase the accountability of water companies for pollution.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government has put in place the building blocks to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas. The Water (Special Measures) Act provides 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.
The 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 Act banned unfair bonuses for ten polluting water bosses this year and introduced prison sentences for executives who cover up sewage spills - closing the gaps that have allowed companies to get away with behaviours that are unacceptable.
The Independent Water Commission examined how to strengthen the regulation even further. The former Secretary of State provided an Oral Statement to Parliament in response to the final report and the Government will be taking forward a number of recommendations.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
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 grant the Environment Agency statutory powers to test for (a) E. coli and (b) other harmful pathogens in watercourses.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) regularly samples and monitors for E.coli and Intestinal enterococci bacteria in watercourses that are officially designated as Bathing Waters. This information is available to the public, via the Swimfo website.
The EA may require water companies to take environmental samples for E. Coli and other faecal indicator organism bacteria during sewage pollution incidents which have potential to impact on bathing waters.
The EA also requires that water companies report faecal indicator concentration downstream of sites permitted to provide disinfection. All sites are required to report on E. Coli. Sites that are designated bathing waters are additionally required to report Intestinal Enterococci (I.E.). The EA reviews this reported data to check disinfection plants are meeting their design objectives.
The Independent Water Commission made a number of recommendations relating to Public Health. The Government will reply to these in their White Paper later this year.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
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 monitor self-reports of E.coli by water companies.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) regularly samples and monitors for E.coli and Intestinal enterococci bacteria in watercourses that are officially designated as Bathing Waters. This information is available to the public, via the Swimfo website.
The EA may require water companies to take environmental samples for E. Coli and other faecal indicator organism bacteria during sewage pollution incidents which have potential to impact on bathing waters.
The EA also requires that water companies report faecal indicator concentration downstream of sites permitted to provide disinfection. All sites are required to report on E. Coli. Sites that are designated bathing waters are additionally required to report Intestinal Enterococci (I.E.). The EA reviews this reported data to check disinfection plants are meeting their design objectives.
The Independent Water Commission made a number of recommendations relating to Public Health. The Government will reply to these in their White Paper later this year.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the level of fines that will be levied against water companies in each of the next five years.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It is for the regulators to determine fines against water companies.
In May this year, Ofwat issued a £104.5m fine to Thames Water for breaches of rules relating to the company’s wastewater operations. A payment plan has since been confirmed, with 20% of the fine to be paid by the end of this month.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of water companies' self-monitoring of (a) discharges and (b) pollution incidents.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government has put in place the building blocks to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas. The Water (Special Measures) Act provides 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.
The 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 Act banned unfair bonuses for ten polluting water bosses this year and introduced prison sentences for executives who cover up sewage spills - closing the gaps that have allowed companies to get away with behaviours that are unacceptable.
The Independent Water Commission examined how to strengthen the regulation even further. 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: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment the Department has made of the adequacy of the water supply to support (a) the East Rail project and (b) housing growth before the completion of the new reservoir in Bedfordshire.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Water companies are responsible for securing public water supplies, including supplies that can accommodate planned growth in water demand from both new housing and infrastructure.
Every five years water companies must prepare a water resources management plan (WRMP), and these plans must be maintained. The WRMP sets out how a company intends to achieve a secure supply of water over the next 25 years. The WRMPs published in 2024 set out how water supplies will be maintained over the coming years through demand management, leakage reduction and enhancing water supplies from river and groundwater sources in the time period before new strategic sources of water such as large reservoirs come online.