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 Answer of 13 October 2023 to Question 201037 on Rivers: Environment Protection, what steps his Department has taken to support the implementation of the Chalk Stream Recovery Pack.

For too long, water companies have pumped record levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas.

Cleaning up our waters, including iconic sites such as chalk streams is a top Government priority. That is why on 23 October, the Secretary of State announced the launch of an independent commission to fundamentally transform how our water system works.

Fixing the systemic issues in the water system is essential to address the multiple pressures facing chalk streams, namely over abstraction, phosphorous pollution and physical modifications of habitats. Restoring our chalk streams to better ecological health is part of our holistic programme of reforms for the water sector.

Alongside this, we are continuing to direct investment to projects that will improve chalk streams. In 2024/2025, there are over 45 chalk stream projects receiving funding from the Government's Water Environment Improvement Fund, each leveraging private investment.