Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 19 January 2026, to question 104940 on River Great Ouse: Flood Control, by when will the Environment Agency have completed their assessment of the potential flood alleviation a) benefits and b) impacts of the proposed options.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The full business case for the St Ives Staunch sluice project is currently planned for completion in late Spring 2026. This will include a high-level assessment of the benefits, impacts and costs of proposed options.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
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 her Department has taken to reduce concentrations of fine particulate matter in the Birmingham City Council area.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Birmingham City Council is responsible for reviewing and assessing air quality in its area. The 2025 Birmingham Air Quality Annual Status Report notes continued action to reduce PM2.5 through implementation of the Birmingham Clean Air Zone, fleet renewal and retrofit of buses and taxis, promotion of active travel, traffic management and anti-idling enforcement. The Council is also reducing emissions from domestic solid fuel burning through smoke control enforcement and public awareness, and works with Defra supported monitoring and modelling to track PM2.5 trends and inform further targeted interventions. The Council continues to work with Defra, DfT, the West Midlands Combined Authority and partners to identify new measures to reduce pollution.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what is the current asset condition of a) Brownshill and b) St Ives staunch.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The current asset condition of Brownshill Staunch sluice is rated as poor (gates 1 and 2) and very poor (gate 3).
The current asset condition of St Ives Staunch sluice is rated as poor.
The Environment Agency carries out an accredited visual inspection of assets to assess their condition and performance every 6 – 24 months. The frequency of inspection depends on the asset’s priority.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled Government unveils biggest overhaul to water in a generation, published on 19 January 2026, how her Department plans to monitor and report progress on private sector investment over the next five years.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Before 2029, the water industry will deliver a water infrastructure upgrade programme worth £104 billion. Upgrades will include 10 million new smart meters, progressing 9 new reservoirs, and delivering 3,000 storm overflow projects. This will require the highest level of private sector investment in the water sector since privatisation. The investment programme will drive economic growth, create jobs, and enable thousands of new homes.
Ofwat, the independent economic regulator, monitors and reports on water company spending and financing through its annual performance report and its monitoring and financial resilience report. These documents are publicly available.
The Government has set out its new vision for water through a White Paper published on 20 January 2026. The White Paper sets out once in a generation reforms that will transform the water system for good, with a renewed focus on securing a fair deal for customers, investors, and the environment, to rebuild trust and secure a water system that works for everyone.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how her Department plans to enforce compliance with proposed stormwater management measures in Buckinghamshire.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) is responsible for ensuring compliance. The EA has strengthened regulation of the water industry through new dedicated regulation and enforcement teams. Its Thames and East Anglia Areas have completed over 2,400 inspections since April 2025.
The EA has visited 7 Anglian Water assets since April and has followed up on the two minor non-compliances identified. It is planning to visit a further 13 Anglian Water assets in the Buckingham and Brackley area before the end of March 2026.
Stewkley Sewage Treatment Works (STW) and Quainton Sewage Pumping Station, both operated by Thames Water Utilities Limited, were inspected in May 2025 and January 2026, respectively. No major compliance issues were identified, and the operator agreed actions to resolve minor non-compliances found.
Stewkley STW is a high-spilling storm overflow site: measures are in place to investigate and reduce spill frequency under the Water Industry National Environment Programme (PR24) during AMP8 (2025-2030).
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what metrics her Department plans to use to evaluate the effectiveness of water conservation programmes in rural areas of Buckinghamshire.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As part of the water resources management plan (WRMP) process, it is a statutory requirement for water companies to produce an annual review of their plans. The annual review sets out delivery of each WRMP component, including the effectiveness of water efficiency measures for domestic and non-domestic water company customers in rural areas. Outcomes from the annual review are also used to monitor progress against the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025 which sets out England’s long term water efficiency strategy and includes metrics to reduce domestic and non-domestic water use.
For water users with their own source of supply, the Environment Agency regulates abstraction through the issuing of abstraction licences. The Environment Agency monitors the use of these licences to ensure they meet their licence conditions and do not risk damage to the environment.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of water resilience in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency in the context of climate change projections.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Anglian Water, as the water and wastewater provider for Milton Keynes and Buckingham, has the responsibility to assess the adequacy of water resilience in the context of climate change.
Anglian Water’s water resources management plan 2024 (WRMP24) evaluates the risk and possible impact of climate change and sets out likely implications for water supplies. Anglian Water has conducted a detailed assessment of climate change for each water resource zone (WRZ) in its area. The outcome of the assessment has been incorporated into Anglian Water’s WRMP24 forecasts and options are included to meet supply deficits caused by the impacts of climate change.
Anglian Water’s WRMP24 was reviewed by the Environment Agency and was published in September 2024.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what monitoring mechanisms her Department plans to use to track progress on water efficiency in domestic properties in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As part of the water resources management plan (WRMP) process, it is a statutory requirement for water companies to produce an annual review of their plans. The annual review sets out delivery of each WRMP component, including progress on water efficiency in domestic properties. The annual review report and data is submitted to the Environment Agency and technically assessed. Outcomes from the annual review are also used to monitor progress against the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025 water efficiency target to reduce the amount of water used per-person.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled Government unveils biggest overhaul to water in a generation, published on 19 January 2026, what powers the new Water Ombudsman will have to require compensation payments to customers following service failures.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All customers of water and sewerage companies are entitled to guaranteed minimum standards of service, as set out by Government. These rights are known as the Guaranteed Standards Scheme (GSS). Where a company fails to meet any of the standards, it is already required to make a specified payment to the affected household or business customer.
However, to rebuild consumer trust in the sector, it is vital customers have assurance their complaints will be resolved. We will establish an independent, impartial and accredited Ombudsman which is approved and overseen by the regulator, in line with approaches used in other sectors. This will guarantee protections for customers by ensuring they can access legally binding resolutions when a water company has failed to resolve a customer complaint.
Government has committed to publish a Transition Plan this year to lead the water sector through transformative reforms such as the new Water Ombudsman.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 19 January 2026, to question 104939 on River Great Ouse: Flood Control, by when will phase 1 of the gate refurbishment project be completed.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Phase 1 of the gate refurbishment project is expected to be completed by 31 March 2026.