Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
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 2 April 2024 to Question 19486 on Sewage: Repairs and Maintenance, if he will issue guidance to (a) local authorities and (b) water companies on whether they have a statutory duty to enforce sewage misconnections under Section 59 of the Building Act 1984.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There is no statutory duty for water companies under Section 59 of the Building Act 1984. The legislation explains the responsibilities of local authorities and the powers available to them, as well as the options for recovering costs they might incur if they have to undertake remedial action.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
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 ensure effective implementation of the Agricultural Landlord and Tenant Code of Practice.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Agricultural Landlord and Tenant Code of Practice (the Code) was published following full endorsement by all organisations represented in the joint Government and industry Farm Tenancy Forum (the Forum) across the industry, including in farming media. Forum members are proactively embedding the Code within their organisations, as well as advising on other industry organisations’ uptake of the Code. The Forum Chair has written to land agents to establish their proposals for embedding the Code. Defra is working closely with the Forum to assess the response to the Code and its effectiveness.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which bathing waters have been de-designated in the South East since 2010.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Clacton (Groyne 41) in Tendring, Essex was de-designated in 2020 due to the site receiving 5 consecutive ‘Poor’ classifications. Newhaven in Lewes, East Sussex, was de-designated in 2016 as the site was no longer being used for bathing. Access had been closed by the private owner, as harbour byelaws prohibited bathing.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to designate bathing waters in Portsmouth South by 2025.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra runs an application process for the designation of new bathing waters. Defra did not receive any applications for new bathing water sites to be designated in Portsmouth South for the 2024 bathing season.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
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 impact of sewage discharges into waterways on wildlife in those waterways between 2019 and 2024.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency produces a full set of water body classifications covering every water body in England every six years, with the last full assessment in 2019. To supplement this, last year the Environment Agency published a limited data set which assessed data from 2019 to 2022 to help inform delivery. The next full assessment will be produced in 2025.
Environment Agency data shows that the pollutants that harm wildlife discharged by sewage treatment works are greatly reduced. For example, there is now 85% less ammonia and 80% less phosphorus in the water environment than there was in 1990.
However, the Government is clear that the sector needs to go further and faster to tackle sewage discharges and the harm they cause. The government's Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan will eliminate ecological harm from all storm sewage discharges by 2050. It will protect biodiversity, the ecology of our rivers and seas, and the public health of our water users for generations to come.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 ensure that devolved regions in Yorkshire develop a strategic plan for water and sewage management.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In January 2023, the Government published its Environmental Improvement Plan. This included a commitment for more joined up management of the water system. The current water and floods policy and legal framework has been developed incrementally over time, resulting in over 15 national plans and strategic documents. Whilst each plan has its own purpose, we want to make the whole framework more outcome-focussed and fully integrated with other environmental plans and government delivery plans. We reiterated this commitment in our landmark Plan for Water published in April 2023.
The Government recognises the importance of having a robust drainage system both now and for future demand. To improve the strategic management of drainage and target investment appropriately to meet future needs, water and sewerage companies have produced Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans (DWMPs). DWMPs set out how a water company intends to improve their drainage and wastewater systems over the next 25 years, including how the drainage network will adapt to changes such as an increasing population and urban creep. Water companies in England (including Yorkshire Water) have already produced one round of DWMPs, with the final plans published in Summer 2023. As committed to in the Plan for Water and the Environmental Improvement Plan, DWMPs will be placed on a statutory footing for the next cycle (2024-2029), in line with the ambition laid out in section 79 of the Environment Act 2021. Statutory planning will help to ensure that sewerage companies fully assess the wastewater and sewerage network capacity and promote closer working and development of collaborative solutions with others who are responsible for parts of the drainage network, such as local authorities. Combined with other water plans and initiatives, DWMPs will help to ensure drainage and wastewater services are better managed and properly supported, as well as delivering greater efficiencies for customers and supporting investment in nature-based solutions.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of current legal protections afforded to tenant farmers.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is working with the Farm Tenancy Forum to closely monitor and understand the application and impact of current legal protections afforded to tenant farmers. This will be further explored in Defra’s June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture. We will keep the need to consult or legislate, or both, under review.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 (a) sewage and (b) other contaminants in the river system on the food chain.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government's Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan (SODRP) was extended in 2023 with further stringent targets on the use of storm overflows to protect people and the environment, prioritising for early action areas used for bathing, for growing shellfish, or with high ecological importance.
This plan will eliminate ecological harm from all storm sewage discharges by 2050, protecting biodiversity the ecology of our rivers and seas, and the public health of our water users for generations to come. In addition to the formulation of the SODRP, we produced an impact assessment which assesses the quality of evidence regarding environmental, public health and social impacts of storm overflow operation.
The SODRP targets will be reviewed in 2027 when new information is available to see if water companies can go further or faster.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
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.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
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.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to his Answer of 23 April 2024 to Question 21424 on Property Flood Resilience Scheme, which local authorities were eligible to make a claim under the new property threshold for Storm Babet in October 2023 that would have been unable to do so under the previous threshold.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The below District authorities declared fewer than 25 flooded properties as a result of Storm Babet. Under the criteria applied for the 2019 and 2020 Property Flood Resilience Repair Grant (PFR Grant) they would not have qualified for assistance. As they are within a Lead Local Flood Authority area which overall had more than 50 flooded properties, (the threshold applied for the current schemes), they are included in the Storm Babet PFR Grant Scheme.
Nottinghamshire Charnwood Borough Council, Rushcliffe Borough Council and Mansfield District Council
Leicestershire: Blaby District Council, Harborough District Council, Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, Melton Borough Council and Oadby and Wigston Borough Council
Norfolk: Broadland District Council, Great Yarmouth Borough Council, King's Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council and Norwich City Council
Worcestershire: Bromsgrove District Council, Wychavon District Council, Wyre Forest District Council, Redditch Borough Council
Lincolnshire: South Kesteven District Council
Derbyshire: High Peak Borough Council, South Derbyshire District Council