Storm Chandra Flooding

Sarah Dyke Excerpts

Wednesday 11th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)]

I am grateful for having secured this debate on the Government’s response to flooding as a result of Storm Chandra. Before I begin, I want to pay tribute to the hard work and dedication of everyone involved in the flood effort in Somerset. I would also like to take a moment to recognise the impact that flooding has on people’s mental health. Victims of repeated flooding describe living in a “permanent state of anxiety”, and this has been palpable when hearing from residents across the Glastonbury and Somerton constituency over the last few weeks. There has been a feeling of déjà vu, and of “Here we go again!”

Between 26 and 27 January, Storm Chandra, hot on the heels of Storms Goretti and Ingrid, brought exceptional rainfall to Somerset: 50 mm of intense rainfall fell across large parts of Somerset causing widespread flooding and set new 24-hour rainfall records in many parts of the south-west. Somerset council acted swiftly, and declared a major incident as 50 homes across the county fell victim to floodwater. The major incident remains in place following persistent rain over the following two weeks, with yet more rain in the forecast and high spring tides imminent. Because the ground is fully saturated, local rivers are highly sensitive to further rainfall, while five flood warnings and 11 flood alerts remain in place across Somerset. Roads are still flooded and communities are cut off.

This issue will not disappear of its own accord. Climate change pushes the extremes, and Somerset, which is so often at the forefront of climate change, will see further extreme weather, with prolonged droughts and intense rainfall becoming common. The Environment Agency projects that there will be a 90% increase in properties at risk from river and coastal flooding, alongside an increase in surface water flood risk by the 2080s. Physical damage alone is estimated at £2.4 billion annually, and it could rise to £3.6 billion annually by 2050. Insurers are set to pay out £1.6 billion for weather-related property claims made last year alone, as the UK battles with the impact of climate change. The Government response to flooding incidents such as Storm Chandra must not just focus on helping the communities currently dealing with flood water, but on how we can better protect those communities and help them to be more resilient in future. Building flood-resilient communities is desperately important and it must be a priority, because these events are getting more frequent and more serious.

Before I move on, I would like to reflect on what we really mean when we discuss resilience. Constituents in Glastonbury and Somerton are dealing with flooding with ever more regularly. Louise owns GingerFred dance studio in Langport. She told me that she has been battling the floodwater that has been lapping up against at her dance studio door for the past two weeks. Despite questioning whether she might have to move her studio, which she has been running for 14 years now—that has been some hard graft—she is absolutely determined to fight on. She wants to fight on, but she also wants to learn how she can better understand flooding, be resilient to it, and help to protect other businesses and help her community.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I commend the hon. Lady for securing the debate. I say respectfully that the friendship we have had over the past few years is one that I appreciate very much. In her time here she has been assiduous and hard working on behalf of her constituents, and tonight is an example of that. She will perhaps not be aware, but the storm hit Northern Ireland with ferocity and our schools had to close. The aftermath saw the loss of even more trees, which have taken a hammering in an unending list of named storms. That loss has had an impact on our natural flood defences and that was very clear in the aftermath of Storm Chandra. Does she not agree that natural flood defences need to be shored up, or we will create an unsolvable problem for the very near future?

[Sarah Dyke]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his kind words and for his intervention. Indeed, nature-based solutions and natural flood defences are absolutely important—I know that the Minister is also an advocate for them—and I will come on to that later on in my speech.

In this place, I have advocated for communities to receive the support they need to develop their own bespoke extreme weather resilience plans. I pay tribute to the tireless work done by people such as Flood Mary in helping victims of flooding and raising awareness of flood risk and property flood resilience. Communities who regularly suffer flooding are resilient, but they deserve action and investment. Flood resilience in Somerset cannot be achieved on a shoestring budget and people deserve better. The Prime Minister has spoken about

“national security for national renewal”.

We must remember that resilience to flooding is part of our national security.

I thank the Minister for joining me in Glastonbury and Somerton yesterday. We visited Langport, Thorney and Drayton to see the impact Storm Chandra has had on the area. I am sure she would agree, after hearing from the farmer Mike Curtis, who took us on his tractor and showed us some of his land, that Somerset communities are resilient, but much more must be done to protect them from flooding. If flooding does happen, they must have the tools on hand and the support in place to help their communities mitigate it.

[Gideon Amos (Taunton and Wellington) (LD)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate and on the amazing work she does on her side of the Levels and Moors that span our two constituencies—I hope I do similar work on my side. She may be coming on to this point, but does she agree that one of the key messages I hear most strongly from residents in Stathe and Burrowbridge, some of whom have water lapping up against their houses right now as we sit in this Chamber and are frightened about what is going to happen tomorrow and the next day, especially with the long forecasts for rain, is that they need better communication, so they have the maximum information about what is happening with the Levels—when pumping will or will not start—as well as about the long-term plan that is needed after this flooding event to reduce flooding?

[Sarah Dyke]

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. I wholeheartedly agree. Every flooding incident is different and sometimes it is difficult to dictate where flooding incidents will happen, but there is certainly a lot more we can do. The Minister and I talked about the trigger points with the Environment Agency yesterday, which it has committed to looking at. I also agree that communication with local authorities and a collaborative, joined-up approach should be better.

I also feel that communities should have better real-time information on flooding. There is a really good example of that in the River Cam catchment, where flood monitors have been put on bridges and an app tracks the flow of water so that communities within the catchment are aware of any significant increase in the water levels. I hope that that can be rolled out so that our communities can be better protected and can better protect themselves in these instances of terrific rainfall.

[Alison Taylor (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (Lab)]

The hon. Lady is making an exceptional speech. There was an excellent debate this afternoon in Westminster Hall on tree planting, with thoughtful contributions from a number of Members. Does the hon. Lady agree that tree planting is essential not just to biodiversity, lowering temperatures and carbon capture, but for preventing flooding?

[Sarah Dyke]

In a previous life, before being elected to this House, I was the lead member for climate change and environment on Somerset council. Somerset has a lower-than-average tree canopy cover at 8%, compared with the national average of 14%, so we committed in our 10-year tree strategy to plant more trees. There are lots of community groups doing that across Somerset, including Reimagining the Levels, which brings together volunteer networks to plant trees. I was out on Ham Hill a couple of months ago planting 3,000 trees for exactly that reason: once those trees become established, they can soak in more moisture and play their part in slowing the flow through those catchment areas. I wholeheartedly agree with the hon. Lady.

According to the Environmental Audit Committee’s report into flood resilience,

“the UK is not on track to be fully…flood resilient by the time”

the Flood Re programme ends in 2039. It further states that without clear standards, flood resilience is just

“a vague ambition rather than a deliverable goal.”

I would appreciate the Minister’s comments on what she means when she talks about resilience, especially at community level. Some communities have spent time and money putting in place property-level mitigations but still face flooding. How can they better understand what it means to be flood resilient?

The memories of the devastating 2013-14 floods are still painfully vivid in the minds of those who experienced them. Following those floods, the Environment Agency carried out what was, at the time, the single largest pumping operation ever undertaken in Somerset. Following flooding in January 2023, the EA once again put in place another large temporary pumping operation on the levels and moors.

[Martin Wrigley (Newton Abbot) (LD)]

I thank my hon. Friend for securing this essential debate. Her speaking of 2014 reminds me of the previous great storm, which took out the railway lines in Dawlish. This January, we had three storms in quick succession, as we did last January, so there appears to be more of a pattern now —it seems to be something we can expect every year. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need more Government funds to call upon to clear up areas after they have been hit so hard by these devastating storms, as Dawlish and Teignmouth were by the storms in January?

[Sarah Dyke]

I could not agree more. We need mitigation, resilience and protection, but we also need to support our communities through the aftermath. That is absolutely crucial. I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention.

While it is yet to be confirmed, it looks like the ongoing pumping operation this year will once again supersede its predecessors that I mentioned. What does that tell us about flooding in Somerset? Despite the Government’s claim that they are investing a record £10.5 billion in flood defences, the reality is that these problems are critical now, and they are continuing to grow. Despite that, analysis by Flooded People UK shows that capital spending commitment is at a lower annual rate than the previous capital regime.

In Somerset, we need action and investment to ensure the availability of critical assets in emergencies, when they are needed to mitigate flooding. Every £1 spent by the Government prevents £5 in damage, and means £2 in direct savings to the Exchequer, yet national flooding budgets have been cut in real terms. It is crucial that the Government invest in cost-effective strategies relating to flood preparedness, prevention, traditional flood defences and nature-based solutions, so that communities like those in Somerset and the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Newton Abbot (Martin Wrigley) are not left to fend for themselves.

Communities that are deemed to be at flood risk have long felt abandoned by Government and their agencies; the Environment Agency’s recent decision to withdraw from main river maintenance owing to funding shortfalls is a clear example of this. With no consultation, riparian owners in Somerset were issued with withdrawal notices last summer, and were left with the responsibility for undertaking maintenance work alone—a decision that has rightly heightened anxieties about further flood risks. Appropriate maintenance of main rivers reduces the likelihood that channel capacity will be exceeded or assets will fail. The likelihood, extent, depth, and duration of flooding, and the damage caused by it, is then significantly reduced. We do not need to go back very far to understand the profound impact that this can have. Main river maintenance reduced over several years leading up to 2012, and what followed was a catastrophic flood in 2012, and then, of course, the extreme flood during the winter of 2013. It has been evidenced that had regular main river maintenance been undertaken, those events would have had much less of an impact. That is why the Liberal Democrats are calling for an urgent review of the decision to effectively abandon main river maintenance.

We are also calling for a further £5.3 billion of investment to ensure that flood defences are built quickly and provided to all necessary communities to increase local preparedness and resilience. It is not in doubt that the cost of flood defences and resilience is significant, but the cost of getting this wrong or doing nothing is far greater. Some £6.1 billion in gross value added has been lost from downward pressure as a result of flooding in the last five to 10 years. Given that one in four properties nationally, and some 1,500 in Glastonbury and Somerton alone, will be at flood risk by 2050, the costs will only rise. That scenario opens up a broader question about communication and how different bodies—including the Government, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the EA, internal drainage boards, the Somerset Rivers Authority and Somerset council—work together with communities and individuals. In the meantime, many riparian owners are confused about what their responsibilities are, and more must still be done to improve communication and understanding. This lack of clarity is causing frustration and yet further anxiety.

I was pleased that the Minister found time to meet the Somerset internal drainage board with me yesterday. The board has called for a collaborative approach, but that must be backed with appropriate local and national funding to move it forward, and it must be sustainable. Any change will take time to implement, so it is paramount that the necessary main river maintenance works continue until alternative solutions are in place.

Alongside the importance of ensuring that dredging and regular maintenance take place, I would like to highlight the importance of natural flood management and its part in making Somerset more resilient to flooding. I am aware that the Minister shares my appreciation for such solutions, but as the Environmental Audit Committee report made clear, these interventions remain undervalued and underused in England, and must take their place alongside hard engineering projects.

The urgent need to build more homes has led to there being full or conditional planning permission for more than 7,000 new homes in England on previously undeveloped floodplain land. I am clear that new developments should not be built on floodplains, because they increase the speed of run-off and the risk of flooding downstream, putting homes and communities at risk. We desperately need new homes, but if Somerset is to hit the Government’s house building targets, the question must be: where do the houses go?

Surface water flooding is the fastest-accelerating risk affecting areas of the country that are not traditionally expected to flood. The Liberal Democrats have led calls to ensure that new homes are built with a range of measures to enhance their flood resilience, and to ensure that sustainable urban drainage systems do their job and are maintained properly. We also believe that older homes should be retrofitted to help mitigate the risk of flooding.

I pay credit to my constituent Tim Adams, the flood warden for Blackford, just outside Wincanton. Tim has undertaken research on the rapid run-off of surface water from the A303, which has often been recognised as materially increasing flood risk. His work has shown how attenuation ponds or wetlands could reduce peak flows, improve water quality and deliver biodiversity gains. In my view, it is essential to use citizen science, local knowledge and natural flood management techniques in a catchment area approach to flood mitigation.

We must also recognise the key role that farmers play in flood management by storing floodwater on their land, protecting those downstream, and consider building natural flood defences, because 58% of grade 1 agricultural land is situated on a floodplain, while 9% is at high risk of coastal flooding. If there is not appropriate insurance in place to compensate farmers for holding water on their land to prevent communities from flooding, we put those businesses under increased financial pressure after each and every flood event.

Yesterday, Mike Curtis told the Minister and me that he had reared cattle in Thorney for over 30 years, with his herd peaking at 750 head of beef cattle 10 years ago. He now keeps less than half that number, because his land spends so much time under water. While Mike’s land saves thousands of homes downstream from flooding, he is unable to access any Government compensation for these losses to his business. Sadly, Mike is not alone in facing this. Trish and Ron from Bineham City Farm near Knole also have hundreds of acres under water, and will run short of feed for their dairy herd before they are able to turn their cattle out this year. This is having a massive, catastrophic impact on their business. That is why farmers who store water on their land to protect housing or other critical infrastructure—they are providing a public good—should be properly recognised for doing so and compensated fairly.

Liberal Democrats would tailor the qualifying criteria for the farming recovery fund to reflect the realities of flooding for rural communities and farmers. We would also raise the environmental land management scheme budget by £1 billion, to support farmers in their transition to environmentally sustainable farming, and to recognise their key role in accepting and managing flood water.

Flood defences in Somerset cannot be run on a shoestring budget. We urgently need to ensure that critical assets are available and able to operate at capacity during flood events. We must use the multitude of flood defence techniques available to ensure that our communities are resilient to future extreme weather events. There is much work to be done to ensure that England has a strong framework that recognises the role of the multiple bodies and agencies that work together to make flood-resilient communities.

To conclude as I began, flooding can have a profound impact on mental health, affecting individuals and communities long after the waters recede. We must always remember the very real and persistent anxiety that flood victims experience; that must be central when considering future Government support for communities at risk of flooding.

--- Later in debate ---

[Emma Hardy]

I think the best answer to that is for me to get the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, which is responsible for that policy, to give the hon. Gentleman a full answer. I recall from that debate that the Department is considering how the long-term maintenance of SUDS can be achieved, but I am mindful of the fact that it is another Department’s responsibility.

Through the internal drainage board fund, we are further investing in resilient infrastructure that can withstand more frequent and intense storms, supporting communities with clear information, accessible resources and long-term recovery assistance, and enhancing natural flood management by restoring wetlands—that is brilliant—improving soil health and working with nature to slow the flow of water.

In April 2025, the Environment Agency proposed pausing main river maintenance in certain low-risk areas of Somerset. However, it became clear, following a query raised by the hon. Member for Glastonbury and Somerton in November 2025, that the initial process did not provide sufficient opportunities for engagement with local communities and stakeholders. As a result, a new consultation period is now open, running until April 2026. This consultation will allow residents, landowners and local organisations to share their views and to help to shape the future of flood risk management in their area.

I fully recognise the importance of flood risk maintenance, particularly in areas like Somerset, where the landscape and hydrology create unique challenges. DEFRA and Environment Agency officials are already in discussion with key stakeholders, and this formed part of a wider conversation at December’s floods resilience taskforce meeting, which I chaired. These discussions are essential to ensuring that our approach to maintenance is fair, transparent and grounded in the needs of local communities. My letters to the hon. Member for Bridgwater (Sir Ashley Fox) in February 2025 detailed the actions being undertaken in support of this.

The Environment Agency needs to prioritise its funding rigorously, and focus on those areas and activities that deliver the greatest overall benefits for people and property, including reducing flood risk and ensuring value for money. It is spending significant resources every year on pumping and managing the Somerset levels. Its work is essential to maintaining the delicate balance of water across the landscape, supporting agriculture, protecting homes and preserving the unique ecology of the area.

[Sarah Dyke]

I am pleased that the consultation is open, and that will be good news for riparian owners across Somerset. Should the consultation come back saying that riparian owners need to continue to do their own maintenance work, what support will be put in place for those who do not have the equipment or the wherewithal to support that? If we are looking at a holistic approach, then if one riparian owner decides not to do any maintenance, what will be the knock-on effect? How do we then ensure that our network of rivers is resilient and does not flood other areas?

[Emma Hardy]

The challenge that the hon. Lady sets out is the next step. For me, the first step is to see what the response to the consultation says and then we can continue the conversations. However, I recognise her point about riparian ownership and responsibility, and the challenge of what happens if everyone does not respond to the responsibility in the same way.

As we look to the future, we must ensure that the investment continues to be targeted, effective and sustainable. Beyond the technical and financial considerations, we must recognise the human dimension of flooding. Behind every statistic is a person—someone who has had to leave their home, someone who has lost possessions, someone who is worried about the future. Flooding affects mental health, financial stability and community cohesion. It can take months or even years for people to fully recover. That is why our response must be compassionate, comprehensive and long term.

We must acknowledge the broader context in which these events are occurring. The increasing frequency and intensity of storms like Chandra and Ingrid reflect a changing climate. While no single weather event can be attributed solely to climate change, the pattern is clear: we are facing more extreme rainfall, more volatile weather systems and greater pressure on our flood defences. This reality demands that we strengthen our resilience, not only through infrastructure but through planning, community engagement and environmental stewardship. That is why protecting communities from the dangers of flooding is a key priority for this Government.

This year has started with record-breaking rainfall, amounting to nearly twice the long-term monthly average in the south-west, which has been deeply challenging. Strengthening local and national co-ordination to ensure that agencies, councils and emergency services can respond swiftly and effectively is crucial, as is listening to communities, as we were yesterday, valuing their lived experience and ensuring that their voices help to shape future policy.

This Government’s record investment in flood defences will better protect communities from flooding right across the country. Not only that, but it will boost economic growth in local communities by protecting businesses, delivering new jobs and supporting a stable economy in the face of the increasing risk of flooding as a result of climate change. This Government are committed to acting to ensure that communities are better protected from flooding in the first place. We will continue to deliver and repair flood defences, improve drainage systems and develop natural flood management schemes.

The emergency services, the Environment Agency, local authorities, voluntary organisations and Government Departments stand ready, as ever, to support affected people in any future flooding event. This is a personal priority and it is a privilege to be the Minister responsible for flooding, and I will continue working to make sure that this Government respond as effectively as possible to floods.

Question put and agreed to.

Sustainable Drainage Systems

Sarah Dyke Excerpts

Thursday 5th February 2026 Westminster Hall

[Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mrs Barker. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Newton Abbot (Martin Wrigley) on securing this debate and on his excellent and knowledgeable speech. I also point to the important intervention made by my hon. Friend the Member for Honiton and Sidmouth (Richard Foord) about developers using up-to-date datasets.

In Somerset, management of water is essential. My constituency is frequently impacted by extreme weather—flooding in the winter and droughts in the summer. The low-lying land of the Somerset levels and local river catchments can become overwhelmed quickly when heavy and prolonged rain sets in, or when hit by a flash flood, as we were in May 2023.

The Somerset Rivers Authority was established in 2015 as a partnership of local stakeholders, and it is now knowledgeably chaired by the Liberal Democrat councillor, Mike Stanton. Its overarching purpose is to reduce the risks and impacts of flooding across Somerset. The SRA was formed after devastating floods in 2013-14, which was the wettest winter for over 250 years. Around 150 sq km of the Somerset levels was submerged for weeks, 165 homes were flooded, 7,000 businesses affected and 81 roads closed across the area. The cost to Somerset was in the region of £147.5 million.

Once again this winter my constituents are dealing with the devastating impact of flooding. Last week, Storm Chandra saw 50 mm of intense rainfall across large parts of Somerset in a really short period. It exacerbated the already saturated ground; as a result Somerset council declared a major incident last Tuesday, as 50 homes across the county fell victim to floodwater.

I pay tribute to everyone who has been part of the emergency effort to support communities across Somerset. Their commitment to help in times of need is much appreciated, whether we are talking about staff members from Somerset council, the SRA, the Environment Agency, the emergency services or other partners; members of affected communities who have opened their homes to displaced residents or those at risk of displacement; people who have been out with sandbags in 4x4s; those who made hot drinks for people who were cold and wet; or, as in my case last Saturday, people sweeping up car parks as floodwaters receded.

Sadly, the incident is not a one-off. Given the Environment Agency warning that river levels are expected to remain high for several weeks, unsettled weather forecasts for some time ahead and the imminence of high spring tides, the risk of further flooding in Somerset remains. With increasingly unpredictable, intense and changing patterns of rainfall, it is essential that local communities are now given the resources they need to prepare long-term, bespoke, extreme weather resilience plans.

Residents must feel confident that their homes will be safe from severe damage by floodwater, and they must be better prepared to cope with flooding when it happens. Sustainable drainage systems have an important role to play, but proper measures must be in place to bring sustainable drainage provisions into force and the systems must be properly maintained. As my hon. Friend the Member for Newton Abbot argued, the Government should implement schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 to require sustainable drainage systems in all new developments.

Well-designed sustainable drainage systems contribute to climate change resilience, provide habitats for nature, boost biodiversity and build flood preparedness. But the current lack of clarity has contributed to widespread problems on new estates, particularly where SuDS fall under the control of private estate management companies. Homeowners are often left paying for poorly maintained systems with no public accountability. In some cases SuDS are simply left unmanaged and it is no surprise when, inevitably, they fail. If the Government are committed to building the homes that people need, they must ensure that new developments provide suitable flood mitigation measures, including SuDS, that properly manage excess rainfall.

Since 2020, Somerset council has carried out over 100 formal inspections of SuDS on housing developments. While most are found to be inadequate, maintenance issues are often highlighted. In Somerton, there are examples of where that has not happened. During the 2013-14 floods, Somerton was badly hit and flooded between Farm Drive and the recreation field. Defects were found in the drainage provided by the developers, while the attenuation pond that had not been maintained appropriately overtopped. Retention tanks were later installed, but they were paid for by the taxpayer and not the developer, as they should have been.

Last week, the same area experienced heavy flooding yet again. Sue and Amber, live locally in Somerton, told me they had lost three days’ worth of income due to the recent floods, because they simply could not get through the flood water. They are concerned about a planning proposal on Ricksey Lane that could make the situation much, much worse. They are not alone: many people fear that the development will create increased surface run-off, leading to flooding downstream.

Those anxieties are sadly not restricted to Somerton. Residents in Street fear that the developer of a planned additional 280 homes has not taken the precautions necessary to prevent the potentially catastrophic flooding of their properties. Residents told me that their key concerns are about the proposed surface water drainage for the site, because the developer plans to discharge water into two attenuation ponds. That, along with the volume of the Portway stream, will then flow into an existing northern watercourse; however, they believe the watercourse will not be properly maintained as it falls outside the developer’s remit.

Current national guidelines are designed to prevent new developments from worsening flooding downstream, but the existing drainage guidance is based on assumptions that do not always hold true in Somerset. In very flat areas like the Somerset levels and moors, water can linger for days, weeks or even months, rather than flowing quickly away. Across different sub-catchments, many factors such as soil type, infrastructure and rainfall patterns interact in complex ways that current standards simply do not address fully. That is why Somerset council is asking the Somerset Rivers Authority to fund an ambitious study of how water really behaves across Somerset’s catchment. The aim is to build a better evidence base, so that planners can update guidance, developers can design smarter drainage systems, and communities face less flood risk.

I hope the study can influence the national conversation, but without action from the Government setting mandatory standards for developers, residents’ anxieties will continue to grow. Disappointingly, the Government are consulting on deleting the rule that prevents planning permission from being granted where the Environment Agency objects due to flood risk. The Liberal Democrats are clear that that must not happen and that the absolute need for new homes must be weighed against very real flood risk. The water management sector is already frustrated that the Government have yet to commit to implementing mandatory SuDS, and the recent Cunliffe review identified inconsistencies in their use as one of the four main issues with the current waste water and drainage regime. The updated standards published last June were a welcome step in the right direction, but they are not a substitute for legislation.

The Liberal Democrats believe that a clear, enforceable national SuDS framework is required that standardises design, guarantees long-term adoption and maintenance, and ensures that someone is genuinely responsible when systems fail. Anything less will continue to leave residents exposed to flooding, unexpected charging and environmental harm. That is why we tabled an amendment to the Water (Special Measures) Bill that would have required water companies to provide, when consulted, honest and accurate assessments of their infrastructure’s capacity to meet the needs of proposed developments, and it was disappointing that the Government and the Conservatives did not support it. I hope the Government will review that proposal, as it is essential to ensure that water system capacity is better accounted for in future developments. Will the Minister provide an update on that?

The Welsh Government have implemented schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, and their post-implementation review has revealed the value and benefit of the legislation. Although improvements may still be required, it is a necessary first step, and we must follow that example. The Minister has previously confirmed that the Government are considering what action to take but are still deciding whether they will improve the planning-led system or commence schedule 3. I urge her to listen to the Liberal Democrats’ calls. She is very welcome to take forward our ideas, because the current regime has not done enough to make at-risk communities more resilient to flooding, which leaves residents frightened, anxious and desperately worried every time dark clouds roll in.

In Somerset, we know what it is like to live at the forefront of climate change. The county will always be at risk of flooding, but with the right planning, investment and collaborative working, the risk and impact of flooding can be mitigated so that people feel safer in their homes. I once again extend to the Minister, and other right hon. and hon. Members, an invitation to visit my constituency and witness the terrible impact of flooding on communities. It is important to see that while the water levels remain high. I am certain that that would focus minds and give impetus, if any is needed, to the urgent implementation of schedule 3.

Oral Answers to Questions

Sarah Dyke Excerpts

Thursday 5th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)]

Last week, 50 mm of intense rain fell across large parts of Somerset and exacerbated the already saturated ground, with a major incident declared on Tuesday. With more unsettled weather in the forecast and high spring tides imminent, residents have told me that they are worried they could be facing a repeat of the devastating 2013-14 floods. With the increasingly unpredictable, intense and changing patterns of rainfall, communities must be given the resources they need to prepare extreme weather resilience plans.

I thank the Minister for her commitment to meet me in Somerset later this year, but will she bring forward that planned visit to Glastonbury and Somerton to witness the devastating impact that flooding is having on my communities while the floodwater levels remain up?

[Emma Hardy]

The hon. Lady raises a really important point—I have been following the situation really closely, and it is devastating. She is quite right to point out the trauma and upset caused by flooding. We invested £80 million in Somerset between April 2024 and March 2025 on flood and coastal risk management, and we will allocate another £75 million to Somerset between April 2025 and March 2026. I will check whether my diary aligns so that I can make an earlier visit.

Animal Rescue Centres

Sarah Dyke Excerpts

Monday 26th January 2026 Westminster Hall

[Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)]

It is an honour to serve with you in the Chair this evening, Sir Alec. I thank the Petitions Committee for enabling this debate, and the 201 petitioners from Glastonbury and Somerton.

For many years, the UK has enjoyed the reputation of being a nation of animal lovers, with over half of us owning a pet. Indeed, I am owned by three Patterdale terriers, George, Bert and Griff, who keep me on my toes, and a farm cat, Thomas, who spends less and less time up at the farm.

The UK was the first country in the world to start a welfare charity for animals. That concern to rescue and care for animals led to the formation of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. A 2025 survey by the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals found that 17% of dog owners and 33% of cat owners got their pet from a rescue centre. The RSPCA collects an abandoned animal every hour during the summer, and an estimated 250,000 animals go to rescue centres every year, which equates to 700 per day.

The cost of living crisis has undoubtedly increased the number of animals being abandoned, with the RSPCA recording a 24% increase in pets being handed over in 2022. Many rescue centres reported increased pressure because of the covid pandemic, which changed the landscape and increased the number of abandoned pets. Many covid dogs were sent to rescues with major separation anxiety, having never been away from their owners. Owners clearly had to go back to work, which put untold pressure on them as well, as they had to give up their dogs.

I put on record my thanks for the incredible work that rescue centres do. Somerset and Dorset Animal Rescue, based near Wincanton, has been run by Liz and Colin Stewart for more than 30 years. In their time, they have saved the lives of more than 34,000 animals, including dogs, cats, ponies, chickens and rabbits. In 2007, in recognition of their work, Liz was invited to the House of Lords to receive the award for international animal rescuer of the year. They run a charitable non-profit organisation. They have no full-time paid staff and rely on support from volunteers, but the costs of running such an operation are significant, with veterinary and food costs rising every day.

Some centres do not have the experience and knowledge of Somerset and Dorset Animal Rescue, and many exist without the facilities and resources to ensure that animals receive the right care and support. However, the lack of regulation surrounding animal rescue centres means they can operate without a licence as long as they do not report making a profit.

[James Naish]

The hon. Lady touched on the costs generated by animal centres, and earlier I mentioned the £800,000 running costs of the Radcliffe animal centre in my constituency. I put on record my thanks to David Carter of Gamston in my constituency, who has lit up his house every Christmas for a decade to raise money for the local animal centre. However, does the hon. Lady agree that relying on people like David to generate funds for these centres puts their regulation and licensing, and the way they look after animals, at risk?

[Sarah Dyke]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention, and I thank Mr Carter for all his amazing work to support the financing of these important rescue centres. Many people across the country do exactly the same thing.

Despite having the best intentions, some establishments take on too many animals or animals they do not have the specialist knowledge, expertise or resources to help, which often results in devastating situations where animals are sadly left to suffer. Donna, a constituent from Street, wrote to me recently about the heartbreaking situation at Save A Paw in Essex, where 40 dogs were sadly discovered.

If regulation is not in place, not only are such awful situations allowed to occur, but major health risks can be posed due to poor biosecurity. Pets should be spayed, wormed, de-fleaed and vaccinated while at a rescue centre, but there is no regulation to ensure that they are. Indeed, some animals in rescue centres are becoming infected with diseases that will need lifetime treatment, which is obviously an additional cost to the owners who take them on. There is support in the industry for measures to be implemented, with an RSPCA survey finding that 82% of wildlife rehabilitators believe welfare standards are inconsistent across the sector, and that more than 68% feel statutory licensing is important.

Earlier today, I spoke to Zoe, who runs Rushton Dog Rescue in my constituency with her mum, Cindi. They have operated for nearly 20 years in Langport, and have rescued thousands of dogs, along with horses, ducks, cats, ferrets and other animals, keeping them at their 15-acre centre. Zoe told me they believe that licensing would be good for the centre, and that unregulated pop-up rescues, sometimes operating out of people’s homes, can leave animals without the care and proper expertise they need.

Concerns also exist over those who use animal rescue centres as a front to run unscrupulous puppy breeding businesses, which leave legitimate animal rescue centres to pick up the pieces. In fact, Zoe told me that that was her No. 1 concern, so I would appreciate the Minister’s comments on the extent to which her Department is aware of the issue, given its admission that it lacks a complete picture of rescue centres in the country.

The Tories pledged to pursue licensing requirements in 2021 and 2023, and confirmed that they would look to consult on the matter, but ultimately failed to act before the last general election. The Liberal Democrats have called for a comprehensive national strategy on animal welfare that secures Britain’s place as a world leader on standards. As such, we welcome this Government’s commitment to ensure rescue centres have the right checks in place to protect the welfare of the animals they care for, but we are clear that any potential new licensing requirements must be properly enforced. There is also a need to ensure that regulations actually result in welfare improvements.

Zoe was also keen to stress that the Government must give existing rescue centres the financial support they need, to ensure they can follow new regulations to bring about improved welfare at animal rescue centres. The RSPCA has been clear that if that does not happen, many smaller rescues, set up with the best of intentions but lacking specialist resources, would be forced to closed, and the lack of capacity would place an unsustainable burden on those remaining in the sector. In turn, that would result in a lowering of animal welfare standards as remaining centres were overwhelmed and unable to care for their animals. I would welcome the Minister’s comments on that and on whether the Government would be willing to provide the support the industry requests.

I was also able to speak with Nigel, who runs the Somerton branch of Service Dogs UK, a charity dedicated to supporting armed forces and emergency services veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder by matching them with rescue dogs from across Somerset and the south-west. It uses rescue dogs from Dogs Trust, and applies strict rules, including background and household checks, before matching dogs. Nigel feels that regulation could ensure that rescue centres are properly inspected, while helping animals to receive the medical treatment they require. However, he noted that three out of 15 dogs in the Service Dogs UK system were found unchipped and abandoned on the street, which highlights the scale of the problem rescue centres are trying to deal with.

Nigel also highlighted concerns over individuals who set up centres and bring in dogs from overseas, putting them into British homes without proper controls. Vets and other public health experts have expressed concerns about the health and wellbeing of dogs and animals illegally imported into the UK, as well as the potential infection of animals already resident here.

The Liberal Democrats believe it is important to improve the welfare and quality of life of household pets, while ensuring that all animals are treated equally in legislation. That is why I am really proud of my hon. Friend the Member for Winchester (Dr Chambers), whose Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Act 2025 will transform animal welfare in the UK and eradicate cruel practices that should have been wiped out years ago.

It is right that we now look to take action on this important matter, and I hope the Government come forward urgently to launch their consultation. There is strong support from the public and industry, and as the number of abandoned pets sadly increases, the problem will only grow.

Animal cruelty must be considered unacceptable, because animals are sentient beings with the capacity to feel pain and suffering. They have a right to live in decent and humane conditions, and it is crucial that we change the law to better protect them from harm. I hope today’s debate serves as an important step on the road to higher welfare for animals who find themselves in the care of rescue centres.

Fishing Industry

Sarah Dyke Excerpts

Thursday 22nd January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)]

I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) on securing this important debate and on his powerful speech. I thank the Backbench Business Committee for finding the time for today’s debate.

The UK’s fishing industry is central to our national economy. It contributes more than £1.4 billion annually and supports more than 11,000 fishers. However, despite the sector’s economic value, the industry post Brexit continues to face numerous challenges. It has insufficient Government support and has been left to fight an uphill battle against environmental neglect and regulatory stagnation. The previous Government’s ill-conceived Brexit deal has had a negative impact on the UK fishing industry and has created deep uncertainty about its future. Our fishing communities feel unrepresented and anxious about the industry’s future economic viability.

Within the terms of the UK-EU trade and co-operation agreement post-Brexit, UK fishing became subject to a number of regulations. It is unbelievable that the current Government’s Ministers have, in effect, agreed to continue with the Conservative plan for fishing, subjecting the industry to another 12 years of neglect through the agreement reached at last May’s UK-EU reset summit, as EU boats will now have access to our waters until 2038. The Liberal Democrats hoped that the summit would provide the opportunity for a reset that would benefit our fishing industry, but it just got more of the same. We believe that if the Government had been more ambitious and sought to secure a new customs union, better benefits would have been secured for our fishing industry.

Although it is positive that a comprehensive agreement has been secured across trade and defence, the Government must work with our fishing industry to understand the impact that the extension will have. Greater co-operation is necessary, given that the raft of regulatory changes to the EU applies to all vessels, but fishers do not feel supported by the Government or by the Marine Management Organisation, which gave the industry just five days’ notice of changes. Poor communication regarding new gear marking and catch reporting has only furthered confusion and uncertainty in the industry.

The sewage scandal that has blighted our waters for far too long urgently needs addressing. Although Glastonbury and Somerton is landlocked, it is home to diverse watercourses, including the Rivers Brue and Parrett, which offer excellent fishing for local anglers. Upstream towards Bruton, the River Brue supports local trout fishing, while further downstream around Glastonbury and towards Highbridge, the River Parrett is dominated by coarse fishing such as for roach, chub, perch and pike. Both rivers are valued ecological areas for our local communities and our region’s biodiversity, but our watercourses have not been left untouched by pollution, with the River Parrett in Langport experiencing 54 separate sewage spills in 2023, amounting to 453 hours of pollution. Devastatingly, in 2025 alone, all the water- courses in my constituency were subjected to more than 45,000 hours of pollution. Across the wider—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

Order. The hon. Lady will know that the debate is on the fishing industry, not on sewage pollution of rivers per se. Perhaps she would like to return to the subject of fishing.

[Sarah Dyke]

I apologise, Madam Deputy Speaker.

The impact on coastal communities is even more severe and economically damaging. The House will know that fishing waters in Cornwall, including in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for St Ives (Andrew George), have been greatly affected by pollution, with many forced to close after high levels of E. coli were found in locally sourced oysters and mussels. For local shellfish growers, the actions of unresponsive and irresponsible water companies have destroyed consumer confidence in locally sourced fish, decimating demand and threatening the viability of local producers across many coastal regions.

Despite the desperate pleas of our coastal communities, the inaction of both the previous Conservative Government and the current Labour Government has resulted in a shocking increase in pollution incidents, which were up 27% last year. The Liberal Democrats have been very clear that tougher regulations must be delivered to prevent raw sewage spillages into our waterways. The Government’s White Paper, which was published on Tuesday, contains some welcome measures, but it does not go far enough—

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

Order. I will not make this point again. This is a debate on the fishing industry. The hon. Lady has made her point about pollution.

[Sarah Dyke]

Let me return briefly to Somerset—this is relevant, Madam Deputy Speaker. The European eel was once a key part of the county’s identity. It was so abundant that it even served as the local currency, and it was the most economically significant part of Somerset’s fishing sector. The presence of this keystone species is said to be the leading indicator for the health of our wetland, river and natural habitats.

Unsurprisingly, the European eel is currently deemed a critically endangered species, with a 90% drop in its population since the 1980s owing to habitat loss and migration barriers. The Somerset Eel Recovery Project, founded by Vanessa Becker- Hughes, is leading community efforts to restore the county’s local eel population through conservation and cultural efforts, but despite its best efforts, its work is not bringing the significant changes that it would like. Removing barriers and installing passes is essential for the species’ survival, which is dependent on migration. By balancing conservation efforts with sustainable fishing, we can secure the stability of the sector and more of us can enjoy the culinary delicacy that is eel.

Across the wider south-west, we are seeing a stark decline in fish species along our coastal areas. In the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for South Devon (Caroline Voaden), the octopus bloom of last year has led to an 80% decline in crab catch—a decline so significant that it is forcing local fishers to consider early retirement or career changes because they are unable to make ends meet. Fishers in South Devon and across the south-west need greater support from the Government to stay in business while they learn to adapt to these concerning ecological changes, and they require flexibility on catch licences in order to remain in business.

Last May, the Liberal Democrats welcomed the Government’s announcement of a £360 million fishing and coastal growth fund after the industry had been let down consistently by nearly a decade of successive Conservative Governments. The current Government must not follow the example of the Conservatives. For a lasting impact to be realised through greater investment, our coastal towns must be given a voice in how the money is spent.

This vital funding should not be spent on generic community assets such as benches and public facilities in coastal towns. It must be appropriately targeted to empower our fishing communities, providing them with greater powers and resources to invest in coastal infra- structure and services. Through delivering a comprehensive plan for spreading economic opportunity, the Liberal Democrats would ensure that the fund supports initiatives to enhance awareness of the career opportunities in the sector and strengthen skills to retain workers and, crucially, attract younger workers to support future growth.

It is clear that our fishing and coastal communities cannot afford another decade of neglect. The previous Conservative Government left our fishers in the lurch and hung out to dry, while the current Government have failed to grasp the opportunity to secure a genuine reset that would provide both stability and opportunity. Instead, they have chosen to continue with a botched Brexit deal for the industry until 2038. Our fishing industry deserves better.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

I call the shadow Minister.

Agricultural Sector: Import Standards

Sarah Dyke Excerpts

Thursday 22nd January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for North West Cambridgeshire (Sam Carling) on securing this important debate, and I thank the Backbench Business Committee for finding time for the debate to proceed.

The UK agricultural sector experienced an enormous shift on leaving the European Union. There was simply no plan in place for farming and international trade, and the post-Brexit era has seen seven DEFRA Secretaries of State and five Prime Ministers. As Baroness Batters said in her recent farming profitability review, this has led to a complete lack of constant political direction at a time when farming needed it the most. Nothing has done more to increase the cost of farming and to reduce farm incomes than the Conservative’s botched Brexit, and it has harmed and undermined protections for animal welfare and the environment.

The Conservative Government did not stop there. In addition, they set a dangerous precedent for future trade agreements in how they went about their negotiations. Stripping away parliamentary scrutiny and forcing terrible deals through has given unfair advantage to imports from countries with much poorer standards, which would fail to meet the high-quality British production standards. The Liberal Democrats demand that every new trade deal should be subject to proper scrutiny, but this Government’s refusal to do so in their latest trade agreement with President Trump—despite calling for proper oversight while in opposition—is a reminder that Parliament has not yet taken back control.

I am proud to come from a farming background. My family has farmed in and around Somerset for more than 250 years, and my brother continues the family business. Like all farmers, he takes great pride in what he does. Despite much turbulence in the industry, farmers work hard to provide the nation with food for our tables. In large part, they remain resilient to most market shocks, but bad trade deals have allowed butter and cheese imports from Australia, New Zealand and the United States to start to land on our shores in increasing volumes. These products are flooding our domestic markets at the expense of British farmers, yet they are under no obligation to have point of origin labelling. That has inevitably led to UK milk buyers slashing farm gate milk prices to a level that is simply unacceptable, and which is unsustainable.

I recently met Rich Clothier MBE, the managing director of family-run Wyke Farms near Bruton. I am sure that you, Madam Deputy Speaker, will join me in congratulating Rich on recently being appointed an MBE for services to sustainable agriculture and food production in the King’s new year’s honours list. Wyke Farms is one of the UK’s largest independent cheese producers. It has been crafting award-winning cheddar and butter from Somerset for over 160 years, and under Rich’s guidance it now exports products to more than 160 countries.

Rich recently told me:

“People want to eat food produced to British standards of welfare…environmental and food safety…But currently they have no way of knowing…and being able to make that choice.”

That is what is important: to ensure that our consumers know what they are buying and are able to make that choice. However, because of Brexit, the Government are forced into agreeing poor trade deals that continue to undermine British farmers and the food that they produce. Over the past few months, milk prices have been in freefall, leaving many dairy farmers on a financial cliff edge. Milk prices are currently well below the cost of production; we have seen thousands of litres of milk being thrown down the drain, and I fear that there will be much more to come over the next few months if we do not do something about it.

Given the absence of point of origin labelling in our trade policy, products are offered to customers without appropriate labelling, allowing them to masquerade as UK-produced. That is why I introduced the Dairy Farming and Dairy Products Bill, which would force the Government to ensure that any trade deals do not negatively impact on British dairy farmers.

Liberal Democrats are keen to ensure that farmers and growers receive fair treatment in the supply chain, as existing protections are no longer sufficient to tackle unfair practices by large buyers. We want to reform and strengthen the Groceries Code Adjudicator, merging it with the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator and giving it greater powers and resources. What is required is a sensible trade policy that ensures British consumers are protected from imported food produced at lower standards—standards at which it would be illegal for British farmers to operate.

Liberal Democrats are champions of free trade; we know the benefits that it brings to British farmers and businesses. But we also know that regulatory alignment is key. We cannot allow British farmers to be undercut by cheaper imports. However, Canada will soon ratify UK membership of the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans-Pacific partnership—which, worryingly, could open the doors to products from farming systems that are banned here and further undermine British farming.

Battery cages have rightly been banned in the UK since 2012, but the CPTPP could allow Mexican farmers who use battery cages to export a large number of eggs to the UK. Those eggs will be produced in a manner that would simply be illegal here. This would force farms such as Silverthorne Farm near Milborne Port, which has 15,000 hens that are all free to roam over its 32 acres, to compete with lower standard importers that operate at a fraction of the cost.

The Government have recently released their animal welfare strategy after promising the largest increase in standards in a generation. While the Liberal Democrats have long called for, and support, many of the measures that the Government have announced, the strategy lacks a commitment to protecting UK food security and farmers through trade policy. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has stated that it will consider whether overseas producers have an “unfair advantage”; unfortunately, it is clear that the answer is yes, they do. It is worth recalling that one former Environment Minister slammed the UK-Australia deal, saying that the UK

“gave away far too much for far too little”,

and described it as “not very good” for British farmers. I am glad that the Government are prepared to use the “full range of powers” at their disposal to protect the most sensitive sectors, as there is little doubt that this is needed. The Government must urgently renegotiate the Australia and New Zealand trade deals, so that we can uphold high standards on food safety, animal welfare, health and the environment. If these standards cannot be met, we should withdraw from such deals.

The Liberal Democrats are clear that a sanitary and phytosanitary agreement with the EU is an absolute priority, so that we can cut red tape, reduce checks, and lower costs for exporters. We have called for an agreement to be delivered as soon as possible. It should be modelled on the EU-Swiss veterinary deal, and should guarantee enhanced access to the single market, with minimal checks. We also want a bespoke UK-EU customs union, so that we can rebuild our economy and support British producers, and the tariff-free movement of goods between EU member states, in order to strengthen domestic economic growth. A far more ambitious, free and fair trade deal with Europe is an absolute necessity. It would give the Government some of the financial scope that they need to keep a few more of their promises to improve our vital public services. However, any upcoming agreement poses some risk to British farmers, as any agreement could limit the UK’s ability to apply our own standards for imports. That is why the Liberal Democrats are calling for us to replicate the Swiss model, which is based on mutual recognition of animal health measures.

The Conservatives sold British farmers down the river in their desperation to agree trade deals by arbitrary deadlines, but there is now an opportunity to properly protect British welfare standards in all future deals. That must be at the forefront of this Government’s mind in all future negotiations, as it is critical for UK farming, food security and national security.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

I call the shadow Minister.

Water White Paper

Sarah Dyke Excerpts

Wednesday 21st January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)]

Although some proposals in this White Paper are welcome, it does not go far enough to guarantee the promised fundamental reforms. Record sewage spills of over 45,000 hours were recorded in Glastonbury and Somerton last year. The public are left in the dark as the Government refuse to record the true scale of the volume of sewage dumped, rather than just the duration. Fat cat-retention payments continue as water companies evade the 2025 ban on bonuses, with the former Wessex Water chief executive officer landing a £170,000 bonus through the parent company YTL, with Ofwat apparently powerless to oppose it. Why do the Government refuse to address the failed ownership model that has allowed pollution, under-investment and profiteering to persist for decades? Will the Secretary of State listen to Liberal Democrat calls for water companies to become mutually owned public benefit corporations?

[Emma Reynolds]

I thank the hon. Lady for, I think, some support for the White Paper and what she has said. We both share real concerns about the status quo. On mutual ownership, I do not really hear a plan from the Liberal Democrats as to how to get to that point—[Interruption.] Hear me out. If it involves wholesale nationalisation, given that these are private companies, that would cost around £100 billion, would be legally complex and take years of wrangling through the courts. My focus is on improving the status quo and ensuring that we are tackling pollution, which she rightly says is still happening. Since January of last year, 100% of storm overflows are being monitored, so we are shining a light of some of the pollution. We still have a way to go, but we are bearing down on the pollution that she rightly talks about.

My solution to this crisis and this issue is to make sure that we have a complete overhaul of regulation, the regulators and the way that consumers are not, at the moment, put at the centre of things. That way, we protect the consumer in a much more meaningful way by introducing a water ombudsman with statutory powers. We are making some progress and we will make more. I know that she and I agree on some things, although we may disagree on some of the details. We are determined to deliver a system that provides better outcomes for consumers and the environment.

UK Wine Industry

Sarah Dyke Excerpts

Wednesday 21st January 2026 Westminster Hall

[Tristan Osborne]

Indeed, different ways of distributing wine have been established in this country by Tetra Pak and others. There are innovations that we need to consider and there are lessons to be learned from other European nations.

Demand is rising in whatever form. Sales of domestic wine increased by 10% in 2023, with sparkling wine sales up 187% since 2018. This is a real success story of our rural landscape.

[Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)]

I thank the hon. Member for securing this important debate. Somerset is more often known for its cider production, but I have a brilliant, multi-award winning winemaker, Smith & Evans, based in Aller on the Somerset levels. As he rightly points out, sales of UK wine are increasing, but there are difficulties, such as the tax thresholds that are hampering growers’ innovation. Does he agree that the Government must justify the cumulative cost burden of extended producer responsibility for glass packaging alongside those rising costs?

[Tristan Osborne]

Absolutely, there are challenges in the industry and I will raise a number of them in a moment, but first I want to offer an overview of the success of the sector. There are a lot of hard-working wine growers and merchants. Despite some of the challenges, the industry is already showing real success and we need to support it.

British wine is gaining recognition not just in this country but across the world. Japan is now a key market and the United States, Hong Kong, South Korea and Denmark are all beginning to respect our wines and see them as a go-to product choice. The export market is expanding at pace and, with support, this could be a real positive multiplier in our rural communities, much maligned and struggling in many cases. This is a growth industry that could sustain our rural economy and grow it in a more promising way. Many practices that wine producers engage with are inherently sustainable and support the local community, both directly in terms of wine producing, but also in spin-offs such as restaurants and wine tourism.

Water Supplies: East Grinstead

Sarah Dyke Excerpts

Monday 12th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)]

About 16,500 residents have been impacted as a result of the latest water outage. GPs and schools have shut; vulnerable people, including those in care homes, are unable to access water; and people have been forced to queue for hours at water distribution sites. Unfortunately for customers of South East Water, this has become a trend: over the last five years, the company has ranked within the bottom three for water supply interruptions.

Experts have stated that the potential for water shortages in the area has long been known, but terrible strategic planning, a failure to cut leakage and decisions to divert money towards dividends have distracted from infrastructure improvements that should have been prioritised. Does the Minister agree with the Liberal Democrats that the continued tenure of South East Water’s chief executive officer is untenable, given the scale, duration and repetition of these serious failures? Will the Government commit to a full, independent investigation into South East Water’s operational resilience, governance and crisis management?

On behalf of myself and my Liberal Democrat colleagues, I offer my condolences to the Minister on the terrible and sad loss of her father.

[Emma Hardy]

I thank the hon. Lady for her kind words.

I completely share the frustration; it would be nice not to be talking about South East Water in the House. I feel I have come to know the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells (Mike Martin) very well for the sad reason that we seem to be meeting all too frequently about problems in that area. As I have said, the Drinking Water Inspectorate will be investigating the situation in Tunbridge Wells. One thing it will look at is bottled water and its supply to vulnerable people—has that been communicated well; has there been a sufficiency; is it in the right place?—because during a crisis it looks at whether people are getting the water they need, so that investigation will take place.

As I have mentioned, I have already met Ofwat to share some of my concerns about performance issues at the company. I will be asking it to look at whether it thinks this company has met its obligations in serving its customers, and I will be reflecting deeply and seriously on what it tells me.

Rural Communities

Sarah Dyke Excerpts

Wednesday 7th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to speak for the Liberal Democrats on this motion. Around 10 million people live in rural areas, and the rural population has been growing faster than the population in urban areas since mid-2020. However, under successive Governments rural communities have largely been viewed as an afterthought in policy, yet rural areas present a wealth of opportunities that need to be optimised. If the Government really want growth, rural areas should and can play their part.

After more than a year of uncertainty and anguish since the 2024 Budget, which threatened to wreck family farms across the country, the Government have partially climbed down on the family farm tax. That concession is down to the sustained campaigning of the thousands of farmers who did not give up and made their voices heard. I know those voices because they are my family members, friends and neighbours. I have stood in solidarity with them as they took precious time away from their farms to attend Westminster rallies in protest at this ill-thought-through policy. For them, this is not a triumph; it has been a hard-fought fight to save their livelihoods, their homes and their futures.

This fight is about justice and security. If we undermine British farmers, we undermine our ability to provide food to feed the nation and to keep us secure in a volatile and uncertain world. Britain is not secure unless food supply is secure.

[Sir John Hayes]

I entirely endorse what the hon. Lady said about the family farm tax and the campaign that was waged against it, which crossed a number of political parties. Will she go further and join the campaign that is raging among the Opposition against the imposition of huge solar plants, pylons and substations on prime agricultural land? Thirty-five per cent of the land in this country is not of that kind; surely those things should go there.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sarah Dyke]

Renewable energy is vital for the future of this country. However, we must ensure that it is put in the right place and is fit for the future. Putting renewable energy on our best and most versatile land certainly is certainly not the way the Liberal Democrats would go about it. However, there are places for renewable energy. I endorse a lot more solar on rooftops. That is certainly something that we can do for the future. I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his intervention.

The impact of the family farm tax has already been felt. Chris, who farms at Wheatlawn farm near Babcary, wrote to me recently. He is a fifth generation farmer with terminal prostate cancer, and he described the family farm tax as a dark “shadow” that has been hanging over him for the past year. He was terrified of leaving his son with a huge, unpayable tax bill. Although the financial burden might be avoided for now, Chris was still keen to point out that what little trust he may have had in the Labour Government has been lost because, in his words, the Labour party simply does not “understand the countryside”. Ministers are fond of saying that British farming is the best in the world, and they are right, but too many of them do not know why. The reason is farmers like Chris and the tradition of family farming in the UK.

Although common sense has finally prevailed, does the Chancellor recognise the damage that this whole dreadful episode has done to the rural economy? When will the Treasury publish an assessment of the impact of this policy on the agricultural sector? While the partial climbdown has limited the damage to the industry, it does not eradicate it entirely. Many farmers will still find themselves facing huge tax bills while operating on narrow profit margins. We Liberal Democrats were the first party to call out and oppose the unfair family farm tax after the disastrous 2024 Budget, and we will continue to stand alongside the farming community and demand that the Government scrap this unfair tax in full. If they refuse, we will submit amendments to the Finance Bill to bring it down.

Alongside producing food, farmers are the guardians of the countryside, but they cannot be green if they are in the red. They are critical to meeting DEFRA’s legally binding targets to reverse nature’s decline, so they need time to adapt and clarity on what to aim for to achieve profitable and nature-friendly farming.

As the Government prepare their new farming road map, we Liberal Democrats encourage them to make it practical, not theoretical. The UK should align with our partners in the EU, who are maintaining direct common agricultural policy payments to farmers until at least 2035. We must ensure that English agriculture is not an outlier, especially given that Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are also maintaining an element of direct support. Farmers in England are left with agri-environmental schemes that, under the Labour Government, are no longer comprehensively open to farmers.

This is the first time in 80 years that a Government have not provided support to produce food. That is a Tory policy being continued by Labour. It is absolute madness to disincentivise food production. I hope that today is an opportunity for the Conservatives to apologise for failing to treat food as a public good. We must ensure that British farmers have a fair deal. We can do so by adding an extra £1 billion to the farming budget, guaranteeing high standards in all future trade deals, renegotiating the Australia and New Zealand trade deals, enforcing point-of-origin and point-of-production labelling on animal-derived products, giving the Groceries Code Adjudicator the teeth it needs to protect both customers and producers, and securing frictionless trade with Europe through new veterinary and plant health agreements.

[Dr Scott Arthur (Edinburgh South West) (Lab)]

I think it is great that, rather than just criticising the Government, the hon. Lady is outlining a set of policies that the Lib Dems would take forward to support farming communities. What is not clear, however, is how it would all be funded. How much would that list of policies cost, how would it be funded, and what would be the impact on the economy?

[Sarah Dyke]

The Liberal Democrats have set out a number of different policies to help shape that £1 billion investment. Being part of the customs union would certainly be part of that, and it would bring in billions extra, as the hon. Gentleman well knows. There is much more we can do.

Nothing has done more to increase the cost of living and of farming and to reduce farm incomes than the Conservatives’ botched Brexit, which made it more expensive and burdensome for British farmers and fishers to export to their main markets in the EU, beleaguering their workforces and undermining their protections for animal welfare and the environment. The Conservative Government set a dangerous precedent for future trade agreements, given what they negotiated and how they went about it. They stripped away parliamentary scrutiny and forced terrible deals through, which gave unfair advantage to imports from countries with poorer standards over the higher-quality standards of British farmers.

[Cameron Thomas (Tewkesbury) (LD)]

We have heard an awful lot of criticism of the Government’s policies on farming from the Conservatives, but very little mention of the trade deals that they secured with Australia and New Zealand, which have made things so much harder for farmers—we will undoubtedly hear a lot about those from Labour Members. Will my hon. Friend join me in asking the Government to commit to rejecting chlorinated chicken and hormone-treated beef from the United States?

[Sarah Dyke]

As my hon. Friend would expect, I totally agree with him.

The Liberal Democrats want to ensure that British farmers operate on a level playing field and can succeed. That is why last year I introduced the Dairy Products and Dairy Farming Bill. Farm-gate milk prices have plummeted over the past few months; now, cereal prices are also under serious pressure. The Liberal Democrats are clear: we need fairness in the supply chain. When farming businesses fail, there is a knock-on impact on local hospitality—pubs, cafés, restaurants and hotels.

Somerset is a tourism region. It supports nearly 10% of all jobs and contributes more than £1 billion to the regional economy. Many of the fantastic hospitality businesses in Glastonbury and Somerton are under immense pressure as they face huge rates increases from April. Miranda contacted me today. She manages the White Hart pub in Castle Cary, and faces her rateable value going from around £19,000 a year to over £30,000 a year. Meanwhile, the British Institute of Innkeeping states that only one in three pubs are profitable, and warns that that could drop to one in 10 by April.

The hospitality sector already faces £4.5 billion in additional taxes due to increased national insurance contributions in the 2024 Budget. The Liberal Democrats have been calling for an emergency 5% VAT cut for hospitality, accommodation and attraction businesses until April 2027, funded by a new windfall tax on big banks. Combined with our policy to reduce people’s energy bills by removing the main renewables levy, we could put £270 back into people’s pockets, making it more affordable for them to heat their home, and allowing them to spend more on occasional extras. That would help to drive economic growth in rural areas, restore our high streets, and give the country a much-needed morale boost. It would also help rural areas to grow the economy.

[Simon Hoare (North Dorset) (Con)]

Will the hon. Lady give way?

[Sarah Dyke]

I will give way to my honourable neighbour.

[Simon Hoare]

I am grateful to my neighbour for giving way. I share her support for a reduction in VAT for our rural hospitality sector, but does she get the irony that such a reduction would be illegal if we were still a member of the European Union?

[Sarah Dyke]

There are many ironies, but the benefit of being in the European Union far outweighs that cost.

Moving on to homes, to help grow the economy we must ensure that rural areas have places for people to live in. In Somerset, newly built homes make up just 3% of all properties recently sold, with an average price 20% more expensive than the UK average. Rural house prices have increased by 57% since 2013, while wages simply stagnate, creating an affordability gap and contributing to a higher need for affordable housing in rural areas than in urban settings. As a result, many first-time buyers and key workers simply cannot afford to live in rural areas, making it increasingly difficult for rural local businesses to retain staff, reducing local spending power, and threatening the viability of our rural communities.

The Liberal Democrats are clear that both the private and social housing markets are too expensive and insecure, with current provision simply not sufficient to meet demand. People in holiday destinations should not have to face higher rents and housing shortages, especially when they are among the hardest hit by the cost of living crisis. The Tories would offer tax cuts on second homes, making it harder for people who want to live in an area where they work, or where their family is from, to own their own home. That evidences their failure to understand what life is really like in rural areas. As part of a fairer housing system, the Liberal Democrats would allow councils to increase council tax on second homes by up to 500% if there are housing shortages in their area.

The Liberal Democrats believe that the Government must recognise the pressure that they have put on rural communities over the past 18 months, whether it is through the family farm tax, the broken agri-environmental schemes, the lack of support for hospitality or the failure to provide affordable rural homes. We must remember, however, that these are not new problems. The Conservatives failed to make improvements for rural communities, and that is why they were kicked out of huge swathes of the rural south-west.

[Several hon. Members rose—]