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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what mechanisms exist for his Department to engage directly with SMEs providing patented technology to address (a) illegal sewage discharges and (b) freshwater shortages.

The Government is supporting innovation through Ofwat’s Innovation Fund, which has doubled in size to £400 million for 2025-2030. Since 2020, it has awarded funding to 109 projects - ranging from trialling artificial intelligence to detect algae in reservoirs, to robots that patrol wastewater pipes to pinpoint cracks.

Ministers and officials have regular discussions with a range of stakeholders, including charities and NGOs, on many issues related to the water sector including on sewage pollution and water resources.

We have begun rebuilding the water network to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas. In one of the largest infrastructure programmes in this country’s history, £104 billion is being invested to upgrade crumbling pipes, sewage treatment works and water resources infrastructure across the country.