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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her department is taking to protect future risk to human health from sewage pollution in (a) rivers, (b) lakes and (c) beaches.

In August 2022 the Government launched the most ambitious plan to reduce sewage discharges from storm overflows in water company history – Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan.  Our strict targets will see the toughest ever crackdown on sewage spills and will require water companies to deliver the largest infrastructure programme in water company history - £56 billion capital investment over 25 years.

In the Plan, we have prioritised protecting public health at bathing waters. Overflows that are causing the most harm to public health, or the environment, will be addressed first to make the biggest difference as quickly as possible.

In February 2023 the Secretary of State asked water and sewerage companies to set an action plan on every storm overflow in England, prioritising those that are spilling more than a certain number of times a year, and those spilling into bathing waters and high priority nature sites.

Further, in April, we announced a legally binding target to crackdown on sewage spills from storm overflows.