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1382329

registered interest
date	25/11/2021
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	Sewage: Seas and Oceans
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 assessment he has made of the accuracy of the recent finding by Surfers Against Sewage that there has been an increase of 87.6 per cent in sewage discharge notifications over the last 12 months.
tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
uin	82067
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2021 answer text <p>The Environment Agency (EA) does not have access to the Surfers Against Sewage notification dataset and therefore cannot comment on the accuracy of spill notifications made by Water and Sewerage Companies (WaSCs) to third party organisations. We expect that, as this data is provided in near real time to Surfers Against Sewage, there will have been limited opportunity for WaSCs to quality assure the raw data to confirm that all the alerts have resulted in spills.</p><p>The number of Event Duration Monitors has increased substantially over the last few years to cover over 80% of overflows, and will provide complete coverage by 2023. For that reason, the number of spill notifications has gone up. However, the Government has been clear that the number of spills is unacceptable and has made tackling this a priority. We are therefore the first Government to take concerted action to tackle this historic infrastructure issue, including through the Environment Act.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow grouped question UIN 82122 question first answered 01/12/2021 17:03:18 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1382330

registered interest
date	25/11/2021
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	Water: Standards
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 he is taking to ensure that water in English rivers, lakes and seas does not pose a serious risk to human health.
tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
uin	82068
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2021 answer text <p>Improving water quality is a Government priority and we are taking significant action in this area for people and nature. The Environment Act sets a duty on the Government to publish a storm overflow discharge reduction plan by September 2022. This plan will address reducing the adverse impacts on public health of sewage discharges from storm overflows.</p><p> </p><p>Where rivers are designated as Bathing Waters, the Environment Agency monitors water quality and classifies bathing waters in line with the health protective standards of the Bathing Water Regulations (2013) and publishes an annual classification of Poor, Sufficient, Good or Excellent. It must also exercise its pollution control powers to achieve at least Sufficient status. Currently there is one river with designated Bathing Water Status, the River Wharfe at Ilkley. This was monitored for the first time during the 2021 Bathing Water Season (15th May - 30th September). The classification result will be published in January 2022.</p><p> </p><p>The Environment Agency publishes a profile for each designated Bathing Water on its Swimfo website (<a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fenvironment.data.gov.uk%2Fbwq%2Fprofiles%2F&amp;data=04%7C01%7Cpqteam%40defra.gov.uk%7C1e040dc5c12f4aa40e2a08d9b414538e%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C0%7C0%7C637738821650463871%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&amp;sdata=MR0tYiJqoVNyibQ1QZ2fEd7KWyiE9OksQV9t4HnApvw%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://environment.data.gov.uk/bwq/profiles/</a>), which provides water quality testing results, the annual classification and information on pollution sources affecting each Bathing Water.</p><p> </p><p>The Environment Agency and the UK Health Security Agency (formerly Public Health England) have published Swim Healthy guidance on Gov.UK</p><p>(<a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Fswim-healthy-leaflet&amp;data=04%7C01%7Cpqteam%40defra.gov.uk%7C1e040dc5c12f4aa40e2a08d9b414538e%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C0%7C0%7C637738821650473840%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&amp;sdata=uUUnPQMioAo97dsU9AsLo006ynBg4tVDLy17%2B2g499U%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/swim-healthy-leaflet</a>).</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow grouped question UIN 81927 82124 82368 question first answered 30/11/2021 15:33:38 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1382331

registered interest
date	25/11/2021
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	Sewage: Waste Disposal
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 assessment he has made of the financial impact on small and local business of rivers, lakes and seas being unswimmable as a result of sewage pollution.
tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
uin	82069
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2021 answer text <p>The Government has not made an assessment of the impact on riverside SMEs of local sewage pollution.</p><p>However, the Government has been clear that the water industry’s levels of sewage discharges from storm overflows are unacceptable and has made tackling this a priority. We are the first Government to take concerted action to tackle this historic infrastructure issue, including through the Environment Act. The provisions in the Environment Act place a duty on the water industry to achieve a progressive reduction in the adverse impacts caused by storm overflows. These include adverse impacts on public health.</p><p>The Government will publish a report before 1 September 2022 on the actions necessary, including the costs and benefits of the elimination of storm overflows. The report will consider a range of benefits, including those to business.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow grouped question UIN 81928 82369 question first answered 03/12/2021 14:01:06 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1382332

registered interest
date	25/11/2021
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	Sewage: Waste Disposal
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 baseline his Department will use to determine progressive reductions in sewage discharges from combined sewer overflows.
tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
uin	82070
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2021 answer text <p>I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 1 December 2021, PQ <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fquestions-statements.parliament.uk%2Fwritten-questions%2Fdetail%2F2021-11-25%2F8206782067&amp;data=04%7C01%7Cpqteam%40defra.gov.uk%7C102c5402e5684b4f615208d9b6519a9b%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C0%7C0%7C637741283896589398%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&amp;sdata=ir5zNrl5eOEadr4A4GN6MeDN9wmHE9vaKGau%2FOxvC4Y%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">82067</a>.</p><p>The Government has made tackling sewage overflows a priority and we are the first Government to take concerted action to tackle this historic infrastructure issue.</p><p>Earlier this year the Government published a new draft set of strategic priorities for the water industry's financial regulator Ofwat. In this publication Government set out its expectation that water companies must take steps to &quot;<em>significantly reduce the frequency and volume of sewage discharges from storm overflows.&quot; </em></p><p>The Environment Act then placed this direction on a statutory footing, setting a duty for water companies to achieve a progressive reduction in the adverse impacts of discharges from storm overflows. Defra intends to set out the level of ambition expected by this in due course.</p><p>The Water Industry Act, as amended by the Environment Act, will include a duty on water companies to publish near real time information (within one hour) of the commencement of an overflow, its location and when it ceases, and to monitor the water quality upstream and downstream of a storm overflow or a sewage disposal works. These requirements will be part of the way we measure and evaluate the reduction in harm caused by storm overflows and the Government will bring forward implementing legislation in due course.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow grouped question UIN 82071 82077 question first answered 03/12/2021 13:55:56 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1382333

registered interest
date	25/11/2021
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	Sewage: Waste Disposal
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the requirements in the Environment Act 2021 for water companies to reduce the impact of sewage discharges from storm overflows and show a reduction in sewage overspills, (a) in what format and (b) with what frequency will data on progressive reduction in sewage discharges from combined sewer overflows.
tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
uin	82071
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2021 answer text <p>I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 1 December 2021, PQ <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fquestions-statements.parliament.uk%2Fwritten-questions%2Fdetail%2F2021-11-25%2F8206782067&amp;data=04%7C01%7Cpqteam%40defra.gov.uk%7C102c5402e5684b4f615208d9b6519a9b%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C0%7C0%7C637741283896589398%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&amp;sdata=ir5zNrl5eOEadr4A4GN6MeDN9wmHE9vaKGau%2FOxvC4Y%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">82067</a>.</p><p>The Government has made tackling sewage overflows a priority and we are the first Government to take concerted action to tackle this historic infrastructure issue.</p><p>Earlier this year the Government published a new draft set of strategic priorities for the water industry's financial regulator Ofwat. In this publication Government set out its expectation that water companies must take steps to &quot;<em>significantly reduce the frequency and volume of sewage discharges from storm overflows.&quot; </em></p><p>The Environment Act then placed this direction on a statutory footing, setting a duty for water companies to achieve a progressive reduction in the adverse impacts of discharges from storm overflows. Defra intends to set out the level of ambition expected by this in due course.</p><p>The Water Industry Act, as amended by the Environment Act, will include a duty on water companies to publish near real time information (within one hour) of the commencement of an overflow, its location and when it ceases, and to monitor the water quality upstream and downstream of a storm overflow or a sewage disposal works. These requirements will be part of the way we measure and evaluate the reduction in harm caused by storm overflows and the Government will bring forward implementing legislation in due course.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow grouped question UIN 82070 82077 question first answered 03/12/2021 13:55:56 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1382334

registered interest
date	25/11/2021
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: Standards
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 estimate he has made of the potential number of rivers that will achieve good ecological status in each of the next five years.
tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
uin	82072
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2021 answer text <p>The Environment Agency sets objectives for the ecological status of England’s water bodies, including rivers, and sets out the programmes of measures to achieve those objectives in our river basin management plans. These plans are updated on a six-yearly cycle. The objectives for water bodies over the next six-year cycle (2021-2027) are contained in the updated draft river basin management plans which are currently available for statutory public consultation:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/draft-river-basin-management-plans-2021" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/draft-river-basin-management-plans-2021</a></p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 03/12/2021 13:49:53 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1382335

registered interest
date	25/11/2021
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Shellfish: Norovirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the levels of norovirus in shellfish.
tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
uin	82073
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2021 answer text <p>The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is the Central Competent Authority for assessing the food safety risks associated with food, including norovirus in shellfish.</p><p>The FSA considered the risks associated with norovirus in shellfish in 2012 when the European Union proposed the introduction of regulatory limits. It concluded that establishing such a limit was not possible due to uncertainties in the evidence base, particularly in interpreting testing data in the absence of an infectious dose or a testing method that determines infectivity.</p><p>A five-year FSA-funded research study, NOVAS, published in 2020 has shown that although almost 70% of oysters sold in the United Kingdom were contaminated with detectable levels of norovirus at the point of sale, this contributed 3% of overall norovirus foodborne infection. The FSA continues to monitor developments.</p> answering member constituency Erewash answering member printed Maggie Throup question first answered 03/12/2021 13:59:40 answering member 4447 label Biography information for Maggie Throup
tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1382336

registered interest
date	25/11/2021
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 much raw sewage has been discharged into chalk streams in the last 12 months.
tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
uin	82074
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2021 answer text <p>The Environment Agency does not hold the data for the volume of sewage released by storm overflows.</p><p>Working with water companies, the Environment Agency has concluded a programme to install Event Duration Monitors (EDM) on the vast majority of storm overflows, just over 80% of overflows in England, by the end of 2020. These monitors provide a robust and consistent way of monitoring how often and for how long storm overflows are used but do not measures volume. By the end of 2023, the remaining number will be monitored.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 03/12/2021 13:58:44 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1382337

registered interest
date	25/11/2021
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	Water Charges
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 assessment he has made of the potential effect of requirements under the Environment Act 2021 on the customers water bills.
tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
uin	82075
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2021 answer text <p>Defra published an impact assessment on 20 March 2020 (<a href="https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/2593/publications" target="_blank">Environment Act 2021 publications - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament</a>) setting out the cost / benefit assessment of the Environment Act 2021 measures as were laid out in the then-draft Bill introduced in January 2020.</p><p> </p><p>Several provisions in the Act will, however, be commenced by Regulations and detailed impact assessments will be undertaken as part of the development of those Regulations. These will include consideration of the impacts on customers.</p><p> </p><p>The Defra-led Storm Overflows Taskforce has published a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/storm-overflows-evidence-project" target="_blank">Storm Overflows Evidence Project</a> on the costs, benefits and feasibility of different options for eliminating harm from storm overflows. The independent research conducted by Stantec presents a detailed overview of potential approaches that will act as an important evidence base for Government action. This is the first comprehensive analysis of its kind and the Government will take account of its findings in future impact assessments.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 03/12/2021 14:01:22 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1382338

registered interest
date	25/11/2021
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	Sewage: Waste Disposal
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 his Department has conducted or commissioned research on levels of public support for (a) action to stop raw sewage discharge and (b) potential increases in water bills arising from that action.
tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
uin	82076
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2021 answer text <p>As part of the Storm Overflows Evidence Project commissioned by the Storm Overflows Taskforce, the consultants undertook a public attitudes survey on the issue of sewage discharges. This independent research project assessed the potential impact on rivers of reducing storm overflows and the related costs. The report, conducted by Stantec, has now been published on gov.uk and is available here: <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Fstorm-overflows-evidence-project&amp;data=04%7C01%7CElizabeth.Allen%40defra.gov.uk%7Cfde1ccac73a947ad177108d9a84182e0%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C0%7C0%7C637725821583907332%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&amp;sdata=k3TM8dE7%2Bs%2FpQNMkkEDghpRUApCkCi%2BOKMap%2BXHo6XY%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/storm-overflows-evidence-project</a>. The report is the first assessment of its kind ever conducted. The Government, together with the Storm Overflows Taskforce, will take account of its findings in future impact assessments.</p><p> </p><p>Ofwat, the independent economic regulator, is responsible for ensuring that water companies charge fair prices and deliver quality services through the Price Review. As part of this process, water companies must engage with their customers and obtain broad customer support when developing their plans and making decisions around future investments.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 03/12/2021 13:52:11 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard