Oral Answers to Questions

Munira Wilson Excerpts

Thursday 19th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Emma Reynolds]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important issue. Like the viewers of “Dirty Business” and my hon. Friend, I share the public’s anger about the decades of failure and neglect in our water system. The programme was very distressing and upsetting. I have extended an invitation to Heather Preen’s mum, Julie, to meet with me. I can reassure my hon. Friend that the Government are determined to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas. We have already banned unfair bonuses for water bosses. We are scrapping Ofwat, and we are ending self-monitoring of water companies.

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

T3. My constituent Caroline fell ill after swimming in the River Thames. She needed antibiotic treatment and was warned by her doctor never to swim in the river again. Like many others, she has been enraged by Channel 4’s “Dirty Business”. Will the Secretary of State step up and not just replace Ofwat but improve transparency by monitoring sewage by volume, not just length of time?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)]

It is incredibly distressing to hear of people falling ill when using our bathing waters. One reform that we are looking at—being led by Chris Whitty—is about public health and water. We want to ensure that when we are making reforms to the water industry, we do so through the lens of thinking about it as a public health issue as well as a pollution issue. We must take action so that we do not continue to see people falling ill after using our beautiful bathing waters.