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 support (a) the University of Portsmouth, (b) Natural England, (c) Southern Water, (d) Portsmouth Water and (e) the Partnership for Urban South Hampshire in tackling eutrophication in the Solent region.

At a local level in the Solent, organisations under Defra (the Environment Agency and Natural England) work with Local Planning Authorities, water companies and academic institutions, including funding research on Solent oyster restoration and water quality directly, as well as with multi-partnership committees and working groups like Partnership for South Hampshire (formerly known as Partnership for Urban South Hampshire) on subjects including water quality.

This work includes sharing evidence, assessing water company permits, providing strategic advice to local authority plans, providing environmental information for the investment plans of water companies through the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) and developing diffuse water pollution plans.

Defra is concerned about the effect of eutrophication in the Solent and is working widely in partnership and through policy to find a way forward for improvements in the water environment.