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 her meeting of 9 March 2022 with the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish, what steps she expects the Environment Agency to take in response to further reports of pollution in the River Tame arising from illegal pollutants being discharged into the tributary Wilson Brook.

Following information received through further reports of pollution at Wilson brook, Hyde Park on Thursday 17 March 2022, the Environment Agency (EA) attended Hyde Park to investigate. The pollution was traced to a point upstream of a local industrial estate. The EA investigation into this incident is ongoing, and it will be attending the location again this week to further progress its investigation. Should this uncover further lines of enquiry, further investigations to understand the source, pathway, cause and nature of the pollution will commence.

If the EA identifies any offences attributable to a suspect, then enforcement action will be taken in line with its offence response options available here:

Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR) offences - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Taking into consideration alongside its Enforcement and Sanctions Policy:

Environment Agency enforcement and sanctions policy - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The EA has also been in contact with local businesses in that area to ensure they are acting responsibly.