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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of sewage discharges in the North West on (a) social and (b) economic well-being.

Our landmark Water (Special Measures) Act will introduce independent monitoring of every sewerage outlet, with water companies required to publish real-time data for all emergency overflows. Discharges will have to be reported within an hour of the initial spill.

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