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 the water quality of canals.

The Plan for Water sets out broad actions to improve England’s water quality, including reducing pollution from agriculture, sewage, wastewater and transport. These actions include specific targeted policies to improve the water quality of artificial and heavily modified water bodies, which includes canals, to mitigate the impact of modifications on the environment.