Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
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 chalk streams protection.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Cleaning up our waters, including chalk streams, is a government priority. Restoring them to better ecological health means fixing the systemic issues in the water system.
Through the Water Environment Improvement Fund, the government is funding 45 projects this financial year (worth £2.5m of government investment) that improve chalk streams, each with the injection of private investment.
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill establishes the Nature Restoration Fund which will create the opportunity for housing and infrastructure to do more to drive environmental recovery, including for chalk streams where these are covered by an Environmental Delivery Plan.
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 he is taking to regulate water abstraction rates to sustainable levels in chalk stream catchment areas.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency takes action where water abstraction is adversely impacting the water environment.
Implementation of the Water Industry Natural Environment Programme between now and 2030 will result in an additional £170 million being invested by water companies to improve river flows in chalk streams.
In June, the Environment Agency will launch an update to the Water Resource National Framework. This update includes placing chalk streams environmental needs at the centre of long-term water resource planning decision making. Investment in national water resource infrastructure and water demand management will be needed to secure sustainable water abstraction in chalk streams.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to maintain environmental standards to chalk streams in the (a) planning and (c) building of new towns.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that to protect and enhance biodiversity and geodiversity, local plans should identify, map and safeguard components of local wildlife-rich habitats and wider ecological networks such as chalk streams. It is for local planning authorities to apply this policy when planning for new development.
Chalk streams are specifically referenced in the definitions of ‘natural environment’ and ‘environmental protection’ for the new system of Environmental Outcomes Reports that the government intend to introduce. This will ensure the protection of chalk streams is taken into account as part of this new approach to environmental assessment.
The government will consult on draft regulations in due course following policy development and engagement with key stakeholders. While we want to realise the benefits of reform as quickly as possible, we recognise the need to manage the transition to the new system carefully. Until a new system is implemented, current legislation on environmental assessment and its supporting guidance continues to apply.
The New Towns Programme aims to create environmentally resilient places that support the government’s net-zero agenda through sustainable design, nature enhancement, low-carbon infrastructure, and responsible development, including flood risk mitigation. The building of the next generation of new towns will not involve the lowering of existing environmental protections in the National Planning Policy Framework.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to provide bespoke protections for (a) the River Itchen and (b) other chalk streams; whether he plans to use planning reforms to support the protection of chalk streams; whether he plans to designate chalk streams and their surrounding habitats as irreplaceable; and what funding his Department plans to provide (i) for sustainable drainage systems in chalk catchments and (ii) to support higher water efficiency standards.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The River Itchen is already designated as a Special Area of Conservation and many of our chalk streams benefit from some form of designation.
Chalk streams can be considered when setting the outcomes for a future system of environmental assessment.
This 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. This includes whether to take forward the powers in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act to introduce Environmental Outcomes Reports
Lastly, the National Planning Policy Framework recognises the role that well-designed SuDS schemes have in managing surface water while the National Framework for Water Resources sets out expectations for water efficiency including reducing leakage and long-term water usage.
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, whether his Department plans to implement the measures announced in the press release entitled Changes announced to better protect England’s chalk streams, published on 21 September 2023.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
On 21 September 2023, the Government brought forward an amendment to the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill, now Act, to add chalk streams to the definitions of 'environmental protection' and 'natural environment', so that they can be considered when setting the outcomes for a future system of environmental assessment.
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. This includes whether to take forward the powers in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act to introduce Environmental Outcomes Reports
We continue to direct investments to projects that will improve chalk streams. In 2024/2025, there are over 45 chalk stream projects receiving funding from the government's Water Environment Improvement Fund, each leveraging private investment, alongside that we are investing in catchment level initiatives through the Water Environment Improvement Fund where the Government is funding 45 projects (worth £2.5m of government investment) this financial year (2024/25) that improve chalk streams, each with the injection of private investment.
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, whether his Department plans to collaborate with (a) local communities and (b) environmental organisations to restore chalk stream (i) habitats and (ii) biodiversity.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to building stronger ties and working collaboratively on shared priorities to restore chalk streams, these unique water bodies are not just vital ecosystems, but a symbol of our national heritage.
In the financial year (2024/25), through the Water Environment Improvement Fund, the Government’s aim was to fund 45 projects (worth £2.5 million of government investment) that improve chalk streams, each with the injection of private investment, and through the Water Resources Chalk Partnership Fund, in the same financial year, the Environment Agency was aiming to deliver 21 Chalk Partnership projects, aimed at safeguarding these rare and irreplaceable habitats.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to implement the chalk stream recovery pack.
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.
Alongside this, we are continuing to direct investment to projects that will improve chalk streams. In 2024/2025, there are over 45 chalk stream projects receiving funding from the Government's Water Environment Improvement Fund, each leveraging private investment.
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, if his Department will take steps to ensure that (a) the River Frome and (b) other chalk streams outside of designated protected landscapes receive equal consideration for (i) conservation and (ii) restoration.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to the restoration of our cherished chalk streams. With 85% of the world’s chalk streams found in the UK, these unique water bodies are not just vital ecosystems but a symbol of our national heritage.
The Government is committed to restoring our rivers, lakes and seas, including chalk streams. This is why on 23 October 2024 the UK and Welsh Governments launched an independent commission, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe and supported by expert advisors, to recommend reforms to reset the water sector regulatory system. The commission aims to build consensus for a resilient and innovative water sector and a robust wider regulatory framework that will deliver long-term benefits to ultimately serve both customers and the environment.
The main pressures on the Dorset Frome are point-source and diffuse pollution, historic land use and water management changes such as weirs and channel straightening, and water resources balance. The Environment Agency is working with partners in the Frome Headwaters catchment this year to further understand and address some of these issues with a focus on reducing fine sediment input and improving habitat.
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 discussions his Department has had with Natural England on a restoration policy for Atlantic salmon populations in chalk streams designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has not discussed a restoration policy for salmon in chalk streams that are Sites of Special Scientific Interest with Natural England.
Asked by: Satvir Kaur (Labour - Southampton Test)
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 potential impact of pollution of chalk streams on (a) water quality, (b) biodiversity and (c) human health (i) nationally, (ii) in the River Test and (iii) in the River Itchen.
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.
There is significant investment and improvement work taking place within the Test and Itchen catchments. This includes extensive monitoring of environmental indicators on water quality and ecology; regulation of operators within the catchments such as water and agriculture sectors; working with the water industry on reducing reliance on harmful abstractions and ensuring compensation and mitigation while alternative sources are delivered (for example, Havant Thicket reservoir and associated schemes) and tackling diffuse water pollution. Much of this work includes contributions from a wide range of partners including wildlife trusts, rivers trusts, fisheries managers, landowners, water companies and regulators.
The Environment Agency undertakes regular sampling of the biodiversity in the Test and Itchen and publishes the results on the Environment Agency’s Ecology and Fish Data Explorer. This is freely available via the Government’s Open data website: EA Ecology & Fish Data Explorer