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

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Douglas-Miller on 3 January (HL1212), what was the nature of the “learning” undertaken by and shared within the Environment Agency following its response to the pollution incident at Cunsey Beck, Windermere.

There was informative and useful advice in the Scottish Environment Protection Agency report. The specific improvements that the Environment Agency in Cumbria and Lancashire have looked to put in place when dealing with significant pollution incidents are:

1. To consider and gather all potential witness information even in the event of no immediate polluter being identified.
2. To ensure full consideration is applied to Environment Agency ecologist deployment and deliver best available practice in sampling.
3. Where dead fish are present during an incident, logging more detail on specific locations and taking samples.
4. During more significant investigations, ensure geographic representation of river locations where actions/observations/samples are made or taken.

The above is in addition to an increased focus on the Environment Agency’s response to incidents affecting water quality. In March 2023, the Environment Agency launched a Regulatory Plan which sets out key actions for Windermere, placing regulation at the heart of its work to improve the water environment. These actions include monitoring trends and pollution hotspots, targeting efforts on reducing pollution sources and reviewing findings on a regular basis.

The Environment Agency is also leading the Love Windermere partnership, a long-term initiative which brings together organisations committed to developing a science-based plan for the environmental protection of this iconic lake.