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 the Plan for Water, published in April 2023, if she will take steps to ensure that existing weirs are not removed without (a) a full assessment of their potential use for hydroelectric power (b) a local consultation carried out by the Environment Agency.

Through the development of the River Basin Management Plans, the Environment Agency evaluates in each water body where redundant physical modifications are damaging ecology and should be removed. Not all physical modifications are redundant and able to be removed, for example straightened rivers. More information is publicly available at: Physical modifications: challenges for the water environment - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The Environment Agency evaluates key criteria when determining if a weir is removed including ownership, use(s), condition, maintenance costs, any associated risks and additional benefits that the physical modifications provide. These evaluations consider local site-specific factors too, such as biodiversity, flood mitigation, water supply and other ecosystem services.