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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to (a) improve water quality in the river Thames and (b) protect local wildlife from (i) plastic pollution and (ii) sewage discharges.

The Water (Special Measures) Act will enable the Environment Agency (EA) to build on its transformation in the way it regulates the water industry, enabling it to take faster, firmer action against poor performance. It will speed up civil penalties for less serious offences, so that it can focus prosecutions on the most serious offending. It will require water companies to publish information regarding the frequency and duration of discharges from all emergency overflows within an hour of a discharge occurring.

The EA has expanded the number of staff dedicated to regulating the water industry, including regulatory officers, data analysts, and enforcement specialists, whilst developing new digital systems and significantly increasing the number of water company inspections.

The EA works with water companies to develop investigations into microplastics, having been recognised as a significant standalone issue. The water industry is also funding further investigations. This will shape understanding regarding how the levels of microplastics entering the environment through wastewater treatment processes can be reduced.