Asked by: Tom Rutland (Labour - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help protect chalk streams from untreated sewage.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to the protection and restoration of our cherished chalk streams.
That is why we are placing water companies under special measures through the Water (Special Measures) Act. The Act will drive meaningful improvements in the performance and culture of the water industry as a first important step in enabling wider, transformative change across the water sector.
The Independent Water Commission, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, will make recommendations to shape further action to transform how our water system works and clean up our waterways for good. The review's final recommendations will be published and shared with the UK and Welsh Governments this summer.
Sites such as Chalk Streams will be prioritised as part of the record £11 billion of investment to improve nearly 3,000 storm overflows in England and Wales during PR24, with 75% of such High Priority Sites needing to be improved by 2035 and the rest by 2045. By 2050 we expect no storm overflow spill to cause any adverse ecological harm and spill no more than 10 times per year.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to save England's chalk streams.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Cleaning up our waters, including iconic sites such as chalk streams is a top Government priority. That is why on 23 October 2024, the Secretary of State announced the launch of an independent commission to fundamentally transform how our water system works.
Fixing the systemic issues in the water system is essential to address the multiple pressures facing chalk streams, namely over abstraction, phosphorous pollution and physical modifications of habitats. Restoring our chalk streams to better ecological health is part of our overall programme of reforms for the water sector.
Alongside this, we are continuing to direct investment to projects that will improve chalk streams. Through the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP), over 1000 improvement projects are planned within chalk stream catchments between 2024-2029.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Norwich (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish the chalk stream recovery pack.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Chalk Stream Recovery Pack was announced by the previous government, but delivery was paused due to the General Election. Restoring our chalk streams to better ecological health is part of our overall programme of reforms for the water sector.
Cleaning up our waters, including iconic sites such as chalk streams is a top government priority. That is why on 23 October 2024, the Secretary of State announced the launch of an independent commission to fundamentally transform how our water system works.
Fixing the systemic issues in the water system is essential to address the multiple pressures facing chalk streams, namely over abstraction, phosphorous pollution and physical modifications of habitats.
Alongside this, we are continuing to direct investment to projects that will improve chalk streams. Through the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP), over 1000 improvement projects are planned within chalk stream catchments between 2024-2029.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to introduce specific legal protection for chalk streams.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Chalk Streams will be prioritised as part of the record £11 billion of investment to improve nearly 3,000 storm overflows in England and Wales during Price Review 2024, with 75% of such High Priority Sites needing to be improved by 2035 and the rest by 2045. By 2050, we expect no storm overflow spill to cause any adverse ecological harm and spill no more than 10 times per year.
The Government is committed to securing better environmental outcomes alongside securing the development we need and is considering how best to reform environmental assessment processes with this objective in mind.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill on the health of chalk streams.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 45278 on 30 April 2025.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his policy is on the future of the chalk stream recovery pack programme.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Cleaning up our waters, including iconic sites such as chalk streams is a top government priority. That is why on 23 October 2024, the Secretary of State announced the launch of an independent commission to fundamentally transform how our water system works.
Fixing the systemic issues in the water system is essential to address the multiple pressures facing chalk streams, namely over abstraction, phosphorous pollution and physical modifications of habitats. Restoring our chalk streams to better ecological health is part of our overall programme of reforms for the water sector.
Alongside this, we are continuing to direct investment to projects that will improve chalk streams. Through the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP), over 1000 improvement projects are planned within chalk stream catchments between 2024-2029.
Asked by: Tom Rutland (Labour - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that chalk streams are protected in planning policies.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 45390 on 23 April 2025.
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the condition of chalk streams in Norfolk.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to the protection and restoration of our cherished chalk streams. Recent investment has enabled a comprehensive assessment of chalk streams in Norfolk and additional monitoring. Of the 11 chalk waterbodies in Norfolk, the majority are classified as having moderate ecological status. These classifications are based on a range of pressures, including water quality, hydrological regime, and geomorphological condition. Comprehensive classification data can be accessed via the Catchment Data Explorer: Anglian River Basin District | Catchment Data Explorer
Following this assessment, the Environment Agency (EA) has developed operational plans for Norfolk’s chalk streams, outlining the current condition of the rivers, identifying key pressures, and setting catchment-scale priorities in line with local and national environmental strategies.
The EA is using its regulatory powers and the Asset Management Planning process to deliver a range of measures to ensure water companies reduce water abstraction pressures and improve water treatment on the Rivers Heacham, Ingol, Gaywood and Nar. The EA is also using partnership funding to work with farmers and catchment partners to reduce diffuse pollution risks and deliver habitat improvement projects at both a site and landscape scale. Through the Flood and Coastal Risk Management and Water Environment Improvement Fund we are investing in projects to restore Norfolk’s priority chalk habitats.
Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the planning system in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill on the protection of chalk streams.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 45278 on 30 April 2025.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) help reduce pollution levels in England's chalk streams and (b) to monitor the effectiveness of these steps.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to the protection and restoration of our cherished chalk streams. We have taken immediate action to clean up our waterways, including a new Water (Special Measures) Act which will bring criminal charges against those who persistently break the law. In October last year we launched an independent commission into the water sector regulatory system to deliver transformative change to the water system.
We are investing in initiatives to improve chalk streams including 45 projects in 24/25 through the Water Environment Improvement Fund. As part of the Water Resources Chalk Partnership Fund, in 24/25 the Government will contribute £1 million for chalk stream projects with partners on 30 projects, aimed at safeguarding these rare and irreplaceable habitats.