Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Hayman of Ullock on 16 September (HL800), whether they have an estimated cost for bringing the water industry into public ownership.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
If the whole water industry was nationalised, share- and debt-holders would need to be compensated, which could cost over an estimated £90 billion. This is based on Ofwat’s Regulatory Capital Value 2024 figures for companies in England and Wales.
The Government has no intention to nationalise water companies. In addition to the significant costs attached, it would take years to unpick the current ownership model, during which time the sector's issues would only get worse. The Government instead wants to tackle the situation as quickly as possible by improving the privatised regulated model.
That is why, alongside providing the regulators new powers to take tougher and faster action through the Water (Special Measures) Bill, the Government has also announced a full review of the water system. This will shape further legislation that will fundamentally transform how the current system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to conduct a review of whether Area and Regional Directors of the Environment Agency have any conflicts of interest with their role as regulators of the water industry, and if so, whether they intend to make any such conflicts public.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
An annual assessment of declarations of interest takes place across the Environment Agency (EA). The EA has a Code of Conduct that applies equally to all employees including Area Directors and Directors of Operations (Regional Directors). All employees are required to make an annual declaration of interest even if it's to confirm that there are no interests to declare, as well as at any time, should a potential conflict arise. They must make a declaration when an actual or potential conflict arises, including the existence of any private interest which might influence or be reasonably thought by others to influence their impartiality or the performance of their duties under the contract of employment. In these situations, the EA assess the declaration and take steps to mitigate or avoid the risk of conflict. A serious failure to declare an interest could lead to disciplinary action resulting in dismissal on the grounds of gross misconduct.
The question of publication of Area and Regional Directors’ financial declarations has recently been the subject of a ruling from the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) which examined the balance of data protection and the public interest, given the current focus on water industry regulation. The ICO found that the Agency should publish relevant financial disclosures for those at Director level, and not for those at the Deputy Director grade, which includes Area Directors. The Agency intends to comply with this ruling.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Hayman of Ullock on 17 September (HL801), whether the compensation of existing shareholders is a pre-condition for the transfer of ownership of a water company in the Special Administrative Regime to a new owner.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No, there is no precondition to compensate shareholders in the case of transferring of company to new owner after a Special Administration Regime (SAR). The Procedure for a transfer scheme in a SAR is set out in Schedule 2 to the Water Industry Act 1991.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sherlock on 16 September (HL638), whether they intend to make and publish their decision on the Health and Safety Executive's final restriction opinion on the risks of using lead in ammunition within three months of receipt of the opinion.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Following receipt of the Health and Safety Executive’s final opinions, the final decision for any restriction will be made by the Secretary of State, with the consent of the Scottish and Welsh Ministers, and published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in light of the complaint in relation to the Government's badger culling policy being considered by the Bureau of the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention at its third meeting of 2024, what methods have been used to measure the badger population since 2012 to ensure local extinction events do not take place.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As part of the existing badger control licensing policy, for intensive and supplementary badger control, Natural England set minimum and maximum numbers of badgers to be removed, in order to comply with commitments under the Bern Convention. This is to ensure the badger control operations deliver disease reduction benefits without endangering the local badger population.
The number of badgers removed and extent of culling activity is also closely monitored by Natural England during the operational period to ensure local extinction of badgers is avoided and to monitor the humaneness, safety and effectiveness of these culls. In addition, prior to licence authorisation, Natural England can also conduct sett surveys and sett checks in order to determine whether there is badger activity present in an area and that local extinction has not occurred.
On 30 August, the new Government announced the start of work to refresh the Bovine TB strategy for England, to end the badger cull by the end of this parliament and drive down disease to save cattle and farmers’ livelihoods. This work starts immediately and includes the launch a new survey to start this winter to update estimates of badger abundance and population recovery.
Further details can be found on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-to-end-badger-cull-with-new-tb-eradication-strategy (attached).
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to (1) monitor, and (2) address, non-compliance with biodiversity net gain regulations.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are working closely with local planning authorities, who are responsible for monitoring and addressing incidents of non-compliance with biodiversity net gain regulations.
Failure to deliver, or attempt to deliver, biodiversity net gain outcomes which are secured with conditions or limitations (subject to which planning permission is granted) can result in enforcement action by the planning authority. Planning authorities have a range of existing planning enforcement tools at their disposal.
Defra has funded the Planning Advisory Service to deliver training and guidance on biodiversity net gain to local planning authorities, ensuring they can competently enforce regulations.
As biodiversity net gain delivery develops, Defra will continue to review the role of guidance in supporting when enforcement action can be taken. Defra will also continue to work with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on any future measures that could support enforcement of BNG and develop the essential housing and infrastructure Britain needs, while safeguarding the environment.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they are monitoring the success and roll-out of biodiversity net gain policy; and what plans they have, if any, to review the current system of exemptions.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We will build the housing and infrastructure that Britain desperately needs while protecting the environment.
That is why we are working closely with the sector to make biodiversity net gain work effectively and proportionally, with exemptions in place for any development that would have no or minimal impact on nature.
The list of specified exemptions is narrow and focused and keeps the policy ambitious, whilst being proportionate and deliverable for developers and local planning authorities.
Officials are monitoring the implementation of biodiversity net gain closely, and regularly meet with those engaging with it across local planning authorities, developers, and the land management sector.
Biodiversity net gain fundamentally changes how developers choose land to build on and how they design sites, and we are pleased to see so many stakeholders embracing this opportunity to deliver both much needed development and deliver for the environment.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Hayman of Ullock on 8 August (HL429), what assessment they have made of the changes that have taken place since the publication of The cost of nationalising the water industry in England by the Social Market Foundation on 5 February 2018, and the impact of these changes on the cost of compensation to stakeholders.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
If the whole water industry was nationalised, share- and debt-holders would need to be compensated, which could cost over an estimated £99 billion. This is based on Ofwat’s Regulatory Capital Value (RCV) 2024 figures for companies in England and Wales. This figure is higher than the Social Market Foundation's 2018 estimates because the industry's RCV has grown over the past six years, following new investment in infrastructure and RPI inflation.
Given the significant costs attached, the Government has no intention to nationalise water companies. It would take years to unpick the current ownership model, during which time the sector's issues would only get worse. The Government instead wants to tackle the situation as quickly as possible by improving the privatised regulated model.
That is why, alongside providing the regulators new powers to take tougher and faster action through the Water (Special Measures) Bill, the Government has also announced a full review of the water system. This will shape further legislation that will fundamentally transform how the current system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in light of the complaint in relation to the Government's badger culling policy being considered by the Bureau of the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention at its third meeting of 2024, on what occasions their actions have been brought to the attention of the Bureau of the Standing Committee, and how many times that they are aware of has an open file been kept on their actions.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A complaint was submitted to the Bureau of the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention in 2019 in relation to the licensed culling of badgers to prevent the spread of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in England. In response to the evidence submitted by the UK Government, the Bureau decided there was insufficient evidence to open a complaint. Instead, it decided to keep it on standby so the situation could be monitored. As requested by the Bureau the UK has provided further progress reports in 2021 and 2023. The UK’s next progress report is due in July 2026.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government why compensation to shareholders would be required for a water Company in the Special Administration Regime, if they decided that public ownership was a necessary precondition of environmental and public health regulations being met.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A Special Administration Regime (SAR) is not a form of renationalisation. It is a tool to ensure vital public services continue to be provided after a company fails.
Compensation for shareholders is not a requirement for placing a company into a SAR.