Baroness Boycott

From 1 January, companies will be required to publish discharge data from storm overflows in near real time. This duty falls under section 141DA of the Water Industry Act 1991, as inserted by section 81 of the Environment Act 2021. To support this, Water UK recently released its National Storm Overflow Hub to provide this data on the same site for the whole of England.

The Water (Special Measures) Bill will strengthen these provisions. Clause 3 will require companies to publish discharge data for emergency overflows in near real time. Clause 2 will ensure that all water companies annually publish information on the frequency and seriousness of pollution incidents and the steps they are taking to reduce them.

The Environment Agency also regularly release information and reports to support transparency and scrutiny of water companies.

These provisions are in addition to water companies’ duty to provide information proactively and when requested, due to their status as public authorities for the purposes of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

Amendment 44, tabled at Report Stage of the Water (Special Measures Bill) by Baroness Boycott proposed to amend the Environmental Information Regulations to require water companies to proactively publish all operational monitoring data, in addition to any data required under permits issued under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016. This amendment would have created a novel route of challenge through the courts for failures to proactively disclose information. It follows that this would also create a new route for water companies to appeal. Apart from being administratively challenging and at odds with the current legislative framework, this could slow down implementation of the Information Commissioner’s decision notices relating to water companies’ compliance with the Environmental Information Regulations.

On 23 October, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Welsh Government, launched an Independent Commission on the water sector regulatory system, to fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.

The review will include broad stakeholder engagement. In particular, the Chair, Sir Jon Cunliffe, will invite views from an Advisory Group of nominated experts, covering areas including the environment, public health, consumers, investors, engineering and economics.

The Advisory Group to the Water Commission will not be ministerial appointments. They will be specific individuals selected by Sir Jon Cunliffe to seek views from and feed in their expertise into the commission. Further details of who will be included in the advisory group will be announced in due course. Thorough due diligence and conflicts of interest checks will be carried out on all candidates.

Supporting people in staying healthier for longer is at the heart of the Government’s health mission. We face a childhood obesity crisis, and the Government will take action to tackle it head on, easing the strain on the National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever.

As set out in the King’s Speech, we will bring forward the necessary secondary legislation to ban junk food advertising to children, and stop the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to under 16-year-olds. The Government recognises that prevention will always be better than a cure. Further action on obesity under the Government’s health mission will be set out in due course.

As set out in the King’s Speech, we plan to bring forward the necessary secondary legislation to deliver on our commitment to end the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to under 16-year-olds in the first parliamentary session. We are developing plans which will take into account enforcement and other issues, and will set these out in a consultation in due course.

As set out in the King’s Speech, we plan to bring forward the necessary secondary legislation to deliver on our commitment to end the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to under 16-year-olds in the first parliamentary session. We are developing plans which will take into account enforcement and other issues, and will set these out in a consultation in due course.

The effectiveness of the United Kingdom’s voluntary sugar reduction programme has been assessed. Four reports have been published to date, which are available on the GOV.UK website, reviewing the progress made by businesses in delivering the 20% reduction target set.

The most recent report, detailing progress between 2015 and 2020, showed that reductions had been delivered in all food categories included in the programme. The greatest reductions in sales weighted average sugar levels per 100 grams were made in breakfast cereals, with a 14.9% reduction in sugar, and yogurts and fromage frais, with a 13.5% reduction. Overall, a reduction of only 3.5% in sales weighted average sugar levels per 100 grams has been delivered by the programme. This is lower than the reductions made in individual categories because of substantial increases in sales in products with high sugar levels such as chocolate confectionary. Reductions were also seen in the calorie levels per single serving of some products. Mixed progress was seen across different companies and brands, and the out of home sector generally delivered less than retailers and manufacturers.

Juices and milk-based drinks are included in the voluntary programme, as they are excluded from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy, and were required to deliver 5% and 20% reductions, respectively, in sugar levels per 100 millilitres. The most recent progress data shows that between 2017 and 2020, retailers and manufacturers had not met the 5% target reductions in juices, while out of home blended juices had delivered reductions of approximately 9%. The 20% reduction target has been achieved in three out of six categories for retailer and manufacturer milk-based drinks, with some reduction in calories. In the out of home sector, there has been a 10% sugar reduction in hot and cold drinks, but this category has also seen a 14% increase in calories. Out of home milkshakes have also seen an approximate 12% increase in both sugar and calories.