Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her Department's timeline is for transferring all abstraction licenses into the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are working to move the water abstraction licensing regime into the Environmental Permitting Regulations. We consulted on the move in Autumn 2021 and are considering the responses alongside wider actions in our Plan for Water.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
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 tackle illegal imports of product of animal origin.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We plan to shortly publish the final details of the Target Operating Model. This will set out our new border controls for the importation of animal products with the aim to address public health and biosecurity risks resulting from the illegal import of products of animal origin. Since September 2022, the government has provided funding of approximately £5m to tackle the illegal importation of products of animal origin, in particular to prevent the spread of African Swine fever to the UK.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many times she has met with the Drinking Water Inspectorate since her appointment.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State is in regular communication with the Drinking Water Inspectorate on a range of matters towards the effective regulation of drinking water quality. Drinking water in England is of an excellent standard and this is demonstrated through a continuing high standard of 99.97% compliance.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many farm businesses are participating in Environmental Land Management scheme programmes in each (a) constituency, (b) local authority and (c) region.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As of 21 June 2023, there were 42,708 farm businesses participating in Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes across England, constituting the Sustainable Farming Incentive, Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship schemes.
In addition to these, there are 2,448 approved projects taking part in the Farming in Protected Landscapes scheme and a further 22 projects that were selected in the first round of the Landscape Recovery scheme.
Details of participation in the ELM schemes at a constituency and regional level area are provided in the attached annex. We do not hold data at a local authority level.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff worked in her Department's communications department in each of the last five years.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra Group Communications is the first single employer shared service communications team in Whitehall, working for six organisations. We have merged six geographically dispersed communications teams from the core department and Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs) and now have a single team operating as an integrated communications function that reduces duplication, improves performance and saved money.
Alongside the core department, the team provides communications support for five of the department’s largest ALBs including the Environment Agency, Natural England, the Animal and Plant Health Agency, the Forestry Commission and the Rural Payments Agency. The teams work across all communications disciplines in support of the policy and operational priorities within each of these organisations. This includes media, planning, stakeholder engagement, digital communications and internal communications across the six parts of the Defra group.
As Defra Group Communications staff work in an agile way in multiple organisations, it is not possible to provide granular full-time equivalent figures for each part of the group, including the core department.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
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 1 June 2023 to Question 186322 on Water Companies, how many (a) cautions (b) prosecutions and (c) legal instruments the Drinking Water Inspectorate brought against water companies in each of the last five years broken down by each water company.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The number of cautions, prosecutions and legal instruments (LIs) applicable for the period 2017 to 2021 to each water company are summarised in the table attached. The Drinking Water Inspectorate uses all the enforcement levers as and when deemed appropriate to the individual issue to facilitate the best outcome.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
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 1 June 2023 to Question 186320 on Water: Standards, how many and what proportion of samples did not meet Drinking Water Inspectorate regulatory standards in (a) total and (b) broken down by each water company in each of the last five years.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Compliance sample numbers that did not meet prescribed compliance value standards for any required parameters are listed as totals for each year 2017-2021 and these figures are sub-dived for each company as attached.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
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 1 June 2023 to Question 186322 on Water Companies, how many (a) fines and (b) legal instruments have been issued by the Drinking Water Inspectorate for discolouration events in each of the last five years, broken down by each water company.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
DWI does not currently implement a financial penalties system. Therefore no water companies were fined under such a mechanism during the period 2017-2021.
The DWI issued a total of 44 legal instruments to companies associated with discolouration events in the period 2017-2021. This is summarised by company in the table below:
Year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
Anglian Water Services Ltd |
| 1 |
|
|
|
Bristol Water Plc |
|
|
|
| 2 |
Northumbrian, Essex and Suffolk Water Limited |
| 2 |
|
|
|
South East Water Ltd |
| 3 |
|
|
|
Southern Water Services Ltd |
| 1 |
| 3 |
|
South Staffordshire Water and Cambridge Water PLC |
| 3 |
|
|
|
Severn Trent Water Ltd |
| 1 |
|
| 1 |
South West and Bournemouth Water Ltd |
| 4 |
| 3 | 4 |
Thames Water Utilities Limited |
| 1 |
|
|
|
United Utilities Water PLC |
|
| 1 | 2 |
|
Wessex Water Services Limited |
|
|
|
| 1 |
Yorkshire Water Services Limited |
| 2 | 1 |
|
|
Totals | 0 | 18 | 2 | 8 | 8 |
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
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 6 June 2023 to Question 186319 on Drinking Water Inspectorate: Finance, what Drinking Water Inspectorate activities are provided by her Department's funding.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There are two appropriate expenditure elements incurred by the DWI that are not recoverable under The Water Quality and Supply (Fees) Order 2016, and that are funded directly by a contribution from the Department. These are:
a) A proportion of the overall DWI’s Senior Management Team (SMT) time. SMT consists of the Chief Inspector supported by two Deputy Chief Inspectors. The specific proportion of the funding from the Department for SMT activities varies from year to year as the range/detail of work by SMT members will also change from year to year depending on the scope regulatory input required.
b) The DWI Research Programme and the associated staff cost of its manager. The research programme delivers important regulatory research with external partners in appropriate areas that support regulation on behalf of the sector and ultimately consumers.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
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 1 June 2023 to Question 186323 on Water: Standards, how many discoloration events were recorded by the Drinking Water Inspectorate in each of the last five years, broken down by each water company.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Total discolouration events for the period 2017-2021 subdivided by company are as follows:
2017 |
| 2018 |
| 2019 |
| 2020 |
| 2021 | ||||||
Affinity Water Ltd | 3 |
| Affinity Water Ltd | 1 |
| Anglian Water Services Ltd | 4 |
| Anglian Water Services Ltd | 5 |
| Anglian Water Services Ltd | 5 | |
Anglian Water Services Ltd | 9 |
| Anglian Water Services Ltd | 3 |
| Bristol Water Plc | 3 |
| Bristol Water plc | 4 |
| Bristol Water plc | 5 | |
Northumbrian Essex and Suffolk Water | 9 |
| Bristol Water plc | 2 |
| Cambridge Water Company Plc | 1 |
| Northumbrian Essex and Suffolk Water | 6 |
| Northumbrian Essex and Suffolk Water | 7 | |
South East Water | 12 |
| Northumbrian Essex and Suffolk Water | 4 |
| Northumbrian Essex and Suffolk Water | 3 |
| SES Water | 1 |
| SES Water | 1 | |
Southern Water Services Ltd | 7 |
| South East Water | 8 |
| South East Water | 4 |
| South East Water | 10 |
| South East Water | 6 | |
South Staffordshire Water Plc | 4 |
| Southern Water Services Ltd | 8 |
| Southern Water Services Ltd | 3 |
| Southern Water Services Ltd | 8 |
| Southern Water Services Ltd | 5 | |
Severn Trent Water Ltd | 24 |
| South Staffordshire Water Plc | 5 |
| South Staffordshire Water Plc | 3 |
| South Staffordshire Water Plc | 3 |
| South Staffordshire Water Plc | 1 | |
South West and Bournemouth Water | 11 |
| Severn Trent Water Ltd | 26 |
| Severn Trent Water Ltd | 22 |
| Severn Trent Water Ltd | 17 |
| Severn Trent Water Ltd | 9 | |
Thames Water Utilities Ltd | 5 |
| South West and Bournemouth Water | 12 |
| South West and Bournemouth Water | 10 |
| South West and Bournemouth Water | 8 |
| South West and Bournemouth Water | 12 | |
United Utilities Water Plc | 13 |
| Thames Water Utilities Ltd | 4 |
| Thames Water Utilities Ltd | 2 |
| Thames Water Utilities Ltd | 3 |
| Thames Water Utilities Ltd | 6 | |
Wessex Water Services Ltd | 9 |
| United Utilities Water Plc | 5 |
| United Utilities Water Plc | 9 |
| United Utilities Water Plc | 19 |
| United Utilities Water Plc | 19 | |
Yorkshire Water Services Ltd | 12 |
| Wessex Water Services Ltd | 3 |
| Wessex Water Services Ltd | 3 |
| Wessex Water Services Ltd | 3 |
| YKS | 10 | |
|
|
| Yorkshire Water Services Ltd | 13 |
| Yorkshire Water Services Ltd | 8 |
| Yorkshire Water Services Ltd | 7 |
|
|
| |
Total | 118 |
|
| 94 |
|
| 75 |
|
| 94 |
|
| 86 | |