Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of river basin management plans in delivering the Government's 25 year Environment Plan goal for clean and plentiful water.

We have an ambitious Plan for Water which is delivering more investment, stronger regulation and tougher enforcement needed to meet our commitment in the 25 Year Environment Plan, to improving at least 75% of our waters to be close to their natural state. River Basin Management Planning is part of the regulatory framework to achieve this goal and has provided a mechanism for managing England’s waters, bringing together national and local measures and investment to improve the water environment. The 2022 update to the River Basin Management Plans represents £5.3 billion worth of planned and funded actions by 2027. Each update to the River Basin Management Plans includes a progress report.

Further, in the Plan for Water, we committed to reviewing the Water Framework Directive regulations including River Basin Management Planning to improve integration between flood, water and water company plans.