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1713452

registered interest
date	24/04/2024
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Rivers: Sewage
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether planning authorities are required to undertake checks to prevent the discharge of sewage or dirty mains water into rivers from individual (a) residential and (b) commercial properties.
tabling member constituency	South West Bedfordshire
tabling member printed	Andrew Selous
uin	23437
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/05/2024 answer text <p>The National Planning Policy Framework outlines the expectations for water-compatible development, which should make sufficient provision for water supply and pumping stations, wastewater, waste management and flood control infrastructure.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 02/05/2024 10:31:28 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
tabling member	1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous

1694660

registered interest
date	07/03/2024
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Rivers: Sewage
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of septic tanks on the cleanliness of rivers; and if he will make it his policy to ban septic tanks (a) in the catchment areas of chalk streams and (b) near other watercourses.
tabling member constituency	Devizes
tabling member printed	Danny Kruger
uin	17689
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2024 answer text <p>Large numbers of properties in rural areas of England rely on on-site water treatment systems as they are not connected to mains sewerage systems. Septic tanks, the most common on-site sewage treatment systems in these areas, are regulated to ensure they are maintained properly and do not cause pollution. Through our long-term Plan for Water, the Government is committed to delivering a clean water environment for people and nature, including the impact of private sewerage systems on chalk streams. This aligns with our broader commitment to review private sewage discharges regulation to manage environmental risk.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 18/03/2024 16:57:54 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
tabling member	4858 label Biography information for Danny Kruger

1692516

registered interest
date	28/02/2024
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Rivers: Sewage
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps is he taking to neutralise sewage in rivers.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	16247
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2024 answer text <p>Through the Government's expanded Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan, published in September 2023, we have set stringent targets for water companies to reduce their use of storm overflows.</p><p> </p><p>The Plan requires that water companies must significantly reduce harmful pathogens from storm overflows discharging near designated bathing waters, by either: applying disinfection; or reducing the frequency of discharges to meet Environment Agency spill standards by 2035. It also sets out that water companies will only be permitted to discharge from a storm overflow where they can demonstrate that there is no local adverse ecological impact. This target must be achieved for all storm overflows in England by 2050.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore, new provisions in the Water Industry Act, inserted by the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, will address pollution at source by placing a new statutory duty on water companies in designated catchments to upgrade wastewater treatment works by 2030, reducing the impact of sewage on our waterways and the people who use them.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 08/03/2024 13:43:33 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1692128

registered interest
date	27/02/2024
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Rivers: Sewage
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what compensation do water companies who have released sewage into the river pay to (a) residents and (b) businesses when they flood with contaminated water.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	15951
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/04/2024 answer text <p>The Government considers the level of sewage being discharged to our waterways to be unacceptable. However, sewage is sometimes released to waterways under strict conditions to avoid it backing up into peoples’ homes and businesses.</p><p> </p><p>Water companies are obliged to provide sewerage services under the Water Industry Act 1991. If a water company has failed to provide minimum standards of service to consumers, consumers are entitled to complain to their provider. We expect companies to respond to complaints appropriately and in a timely manner.</p><p> </p><p>This Government is acting to drive down flood risk from every angle. At the last spending review the government increased funding for maintenance of flood defences by £22 million per year, so now over £200 million per year goes on maintenance. This funding ensures flood defences are kept in good working order.</p><p> </p><p>Homeowners and businesses should contact their insurance provider if their property has been flooded. Flood Re is a joint government and insurance industry re-insurance scheme for UK households at high flood risk, available via more than 85 insurance brands.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore grouped question UIN 18745 question first answered 09/04/2024 09:38:23 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1692130

registered interest
date	27/02/2024
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Rivers: Sewage
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how river water quality is tested for sewage releases.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	15953
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2024 answer text <p>Monitoring data provides the Environment Agency (EA) with information for different needs and uses, including environmental health surveillance, effective regulation and incident management. Various monitoring programmes fulfil these information needs.</p><p> </p><p>The EA‘s monitoring collects and makes available essential measurements on water quality (chemistry and physico-chemistry), ecology (including fish, invertebrates, plants and algae), all of which can be impacted by sewage. Where there is a serious incident involving the release of untreated sewage, which could have a significant impact on the environment, the EA may collect samples to determine the level of impact, and in some cases for the provision of evidence in formal investigations.</p><p> </p><p>To aid further monitoring, the government has brought forward new measures under the Environment Act 2021 to require sewerage undertakers to monitor sewerage assets and the impact they have on the local environment. This data will allow water companies to better target their investments in infrastructure and allow regulators to monitor how successful these improvements are.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 08/03/2024 13:46:44 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1691842

registered interest
date	26/02/2024
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Rivers: Sewage
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government when the results of the Storm Overflow Assessment Framework will be published for storm overflows potentially discharging untreated sewage into English rivers; and on what occasions there have been (1) overflows where untreated sewage can be lawfully discharged other than as a result of exceptional rainfall, and (2) overflows where untreated sewage cannot be lawfully discharged other than as a result of exceptional rainfall.
tabling member printed	Baroness Boycott
uin	HL2723
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/03/2024 answer text <p>Outcomes of the Storm Overflow Assessment Framework (SOAF) investigations within calendar year are reported through the annual Event Duration Monitoring (EDM) reporting from Water and Sewerage Companies to the Environment Agency at the end of February the following year. The Environment Agency publishes these EDM reports by end of March each year.</p><p> </p><p>The Environment Agency will publish the 2023 EDM report in March 2024 and this will contain outcomes from SOAF investigations completed by December 2023. The Environment Agency will assess data provided by each water company in order to assess whether they are meeting their legal obligations with regards to the discharge of untreated sewage.</p> answering member printed Lord Douglas-Miller question first answered 11/03/2024 12:21:37 answering member 5006 label Biography information for Lord Douglas-Miller
tabling member	4704 label Biography information for Baroness Boycott

1686087

registered interest
date	30/01/2024
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Rivers: Sewage
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the evidence presented in the BBC Panorama programme, The Water Pollution Cover-Up, broadcast in December 2023, on sewage pollution in rivers.
tabling member printed	Lord Birt
uin	HL2021
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/02/2024 answer text <p>Due to the seriousness of the incident at Cunsey Beck, Windermere and the fact that a definitive pollution source had not been identified, the Environment Agency (EA) asked the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to review their response to the incident.</p><p /><p>The EA recognise things should have been done better, that is why improvements have been made to water quality monitoring in the area, including installing sensors that monitor river quality in real time. Learning has been shared within the Environment Agency to inform future responses.</p><p> </p><p>Under operator self-monitoring, introduced in 2009, water and sewerage companies are responsible for collecting and analysing samples of their discharges to the environment. They have a legal duty to report any breach of their permits. A failure to self-report will be taken into consideration when enforcement options are being considered.</p><p> </p><p>The EA assesses and records every incident report it receives – between 70,000 and 100,000 a year. They attend those incidents where there is a significant risk, with a target to attend all Category 1 and 2 serious pollution incidents.</p><p /><p>Water companies cannot downgrade an incident category. When a pollution event occurs, the initial incident categorisation is set by the Environment Agency based on the initial information, often based on a ‘worst case scenario’. The incident is given a final categorisation by the EA once the case has been fully investigated.</p><p> </p><p>In June 2023, the EA launched its Water Industry Transformation Programme, outlining that it would be transforming the way it regulates the sector, embedding a new approach that targets resource and interventions to uncover non-compliance and drive better performance from the water industry. This includes looking at how incidents are investigated and how they are categorised.</p> answering member printed Lord Douglas-Miller question first answered 14/02/2024 17:38:39 answering member 5006 label Biography information for Lord Douglas-Miller
tabling member	2533 label Biography information for Lord Birt

1583106

registered interest
date	01/02/2023
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Rivers: Sewage
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of raw sewage discharged into rivers (1) annually between 2010 and 2022, and (2) annually up to and including 2030.
tabling member printed	Lord Foster of Bath
uin	HL5306
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/02/2023 answer text <p>Event Duration Monitoring (EDM) provides information on when and for how long sewage discharges have occurred. All EDM data is published online. More information on EDM is available <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fenvironmentagency.blog.gov.uk%2F2022%2F03%2F31%2Fstorm-overflow-spill-data-released-today-shows-no-room-for-complacency%2F&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cpqteam%40defra.gov.uk%7Cbc1c12e45d8748efcf3f08db0dd8a9f8%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C0%7C0%7C638118996433027430%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=0mqwLd2RZC2wQuAU1xrXNFKO1KlcY6PygdhMHhNPVr0%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">here</a> (copy attached to this answer). The Environment Agency will be publishing the annual EDM dataset for 2022 in March 2023.</p><p> </p><p>We have increased the number of storm overflows monitored across the network from 5% in 2016 to almost 90% now monitored, and we will reach 100% cover by end of this year. Therefore, it is not an accurate reflection to compare the number of discharges across 2010 to 2021 given monitoring was not installed at all sites at the same point in time.</p> answering member printed Lord Benyon question first answered 14/02/2023 15:18:13 answering member 1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon attachment 1 file name Storm overflow spill data released today shows no room for complacency - Creating a better place.pdf title Storm overflow spill data
tabling member	214 label Biography information for Lord Foster of Bath

1490216

registered interest
date	18/07/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Rivers: Sewage
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers from his Department have had with representatives of water companies since 1 April 2022 on the discharge of raw sewage into waterways.
tabling member constituency	Westmorland and Lonsdale
tabling member printed	Tim Farron
uin	38592
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2022 answer text <p>I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 13 July 2022 to PQ <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fquestions-statements.parliament.uk%2Fwritten-questions%2Fdetail%2F2022-07-05%2F31060&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cpqteam%40defra.gov.uk%7Cfced1c8007f941265a0008da6bebf350%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C0%7C0%7C637940958393569776%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=Uz%2BIElBvhQPK6PzW%2FrfySQugCfLXc%2F5N%2Bi8sYBfzrTI%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">31060</a>.</p> answering member constituency St Austell and Newquay answering member printed Steve Double question first answered 25/07/2022 11:23:39 answering member 4452 label Biography information for Steve Double
tabling member	1591 label Biography information for Tim Farron

1460612

registered interest
date	28/04/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Rivers: Sewage
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions officials in his Department have had with representatives of the water industry on tackling the illegal discharge of untreated sewage into rivers across the UK.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	906652
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2022 answer text <p>I have been repeatedly clear that the frequency of sewage discharges and pollution incidents is unacceptable. We are the first Government to introduce a legal duty to clean up our waterways, backed up by our direction to Ofwat. We are cracking down on water companies, putting in place ambitious targets, and we have launched a consultation on our plan to reduce storm overflows. On this side of the House we voted in favour of a whole package of measures to improve water quality – the Hon Lady and her colleagues opposite did not.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 28/04/2022 11:47:19 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse