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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with (a) NGOs, (b) non-profit organisations and (c) Surfers Against Sewage on levels of sewage in rivers and seas.

Ministers and officials have regular discussions with a range of stakeholders, including Surfers Against Sewage, on levels of sewage in rivers and seas.

As part of our Plan for Change, we are putting water companies under special measures through our landmark Water (Special Measures) Act, introducing new powers to ban the payment of bonuses for polluting water bosses and bring criminal charges against law breakers.

Government is clear that water companies must take swift action to address storm overflow spills through reducing the number of spills from storm overflows by 45% (compared to 2021 levels) by spending £11bn to upgrade over 3,000 storm overflows in England and Wales.

The Independent Water Commission, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, will recommend reforms to reset the water sector and is expected to form the largest review of the industry since privatisation. It is considering a wide range of areas, as set out in the Commission’s Call for Evidence(opens in a new tab).

The Commission’s Interim Report was published on 03 June 2025; the report's findings can be found at Independent Water Commission publishes interim findings - GOV.UK. The final report and recommendations will be published later in the summer.