Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance contamination in drinking water in England.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra works with other departments, regulators and devolved administrations to assess PFAS levels, their sources and potential risks, informing future policy and regulation.
The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) has provided guidance on PFAS since 2007, most recently updated in August 2024 and consolidated in March 2025. The guidance uses a tiered system with graduated responses based on concentrations detected in raw water.
In 2021 a guideline value of 0.1 micrograms per litre (µg/L) was adopted. Since August 2024, water companies must monitor for 48 PFAS in supplies, agreed with the UK Health Security Agency as safe levels with an appropriate margin. Any exceedance must be reported to the DWI, with actions taken to reduce levels. No exceedances have been found in UK supplies.
The DWI continues to review advice from World Health Organisation and the UK’s Committee on Toxicity, acting on emerging science to safeguard public health.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to support national expansion of the Yellowfish campaign to reduce drain contamination.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Yellow fish campaign is a targeted community-led engagement initiative that raises awareness of water pollution caused by contaminants such as chemicals, oils, detergents, and litter entering road drains. Where drainage has been identified as a pollution source, this campaign offers a practical, visible solution to support pollution reduction efforts. It aligns with policy goals on clean water, community engagement and sustainable infrastructure and is a solution that should be encouraged in appropriate locations.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure clear consumer labelling on wet wipes marketed as flushable.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government’s message is clear – if you need to use wet wipes, dispose of them in the bin, not the loo, flushing wet wipes causes a number of environmental and drainage impacts.
We are considering if further action, including on product labelling, is required to tackle the issues caused by wrongly flushing wet wipes and other unflushables.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to improve public awareness of drinking water (a) safety and (b) quality standards.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to ensuring a high level of protection for human health and the environment. Drinking water quality in England is exceptionally high and among the best in the world; the UK was ranked in the top 8 countries globally for drinking water safety in the 2024 Environmental Performance Index.
Public drinking water compliance with the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2016 has been consistently high for years. The most recent published figures show 99.97% compliance rate compared with between 98-98.5% in the early 1990s.
The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) publishes advice on drinking water quality safety and standards online. In December 2024, the DWI published a report, with recommendations, on drinking water standards by an advisory group of specialists with wide-ranging technical expertise. Defra and the DWI will work together to consider potential regulatory updates to England’s drinking water quality legislation based on these recommendations.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timetable is for banning wet wipes containing plastic.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are working together with the devolved Governments to ban wet wipes containing plastic across the UK. For England, we will legislate in Autumn this year.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of (a) using (i) sustainable urban drainage systems and (ii) similar mechanisms to manage rainwater on site of new developments and (b) allowing rainwater to flow into sewers on (A) storm outflows, (B) treatment processes and (C) the environment.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Comparative and impact assessments of the type requested are not currently available. This is primarily because the design of Sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) for any given development site will depend on a range of factors, including topography of the site, development size, development type, and rainfall rates.
SuDS provide a range of benefits. They mimic natural water flow and are designed to reduce the impact of rainfall by using features such as soakaways, grassed areas, permeable surfaces and wetlands. This reduces the pressure on our drainage infrastructure by reducing the quantity of water that ends up in the sewers and storm overflow discharges, mitigating flood risk and preventing pollution from untreated sewage ending up in our waterways.
SuDS also improve the quality of water entering our drainage infrastructure as they offer a natural filtration process, thereby removing pollutants. SuDS provide additional benefits, such as boosting biodiversity, improving local amenities, harvesting rainwater for reuse, heat island mitigation, improve air quality and even providing food growing opportunities.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what comparative assessment his Department has made of the cost of (a) using sustainable urban drainage systems to manage rainwater on site of new developments and (b) allowing this rainwater to flow into sewers.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Comparative and impact assessments of the type requested are not currently available. This is primarily because the design of Sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) for any given development site will depend on a range of factors, including topography of the site, development size, development type, and rainfall rates.
SuDS provide a range of benefits. They mimic natural water flow and are designed to reduce the impact of rainfall by using features such as soakaways, grassed areas, permeable surfaces and wetlands. This reduces the pressure on our drainage infrastructure by reducing the quantity of water that ends up in the sewers and storm overflow discharges, mitigating flood risk and preventing pollution from untreated sewage ending up in our waterways.
SuDS also improve the quality of water entering our drainage infrastructure as they offer a natural filtration process, thereby removing pollutants. SuDS provide additional benefits, such as boosting biodiversity, improving local amenities, harvesting rainwater for reuse, heat island mitigation, improve air quality and even providing food growing opportunities.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to implement a national food strategy.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Defra is developing an ambitious food strategy which will set the food system on the path for long-term success, ensuring it is able to feed the nation, realising its potential for economic growth, boosting our food security, improving our health, and ensuring environmental sustainability now and in the future.
We know this will require a whole-of-Government effort – the issues the food system faces cut across the work of many Departments. We also know that this is not a job for government alone. We will work side-by-side with industry and stakeholders across the food system to deliver lasting change, forming a partnership that draws on shared expertise and collective commitments, backed by a clear vision and framework for change.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure that at least 50% of all food purchased by the public sector is (a) locally produced and (b) sustainable.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The Government has an ambition to be able to supply half of all food into the public sector from British producers or certified to higher environmental standards, whilst being in line with World Trade Organisation and domestic procurement obligations. Officials are developing a range of proposals to develop public sector food and catering procurement policy, to set the tone for Government ambition, as well as driving net zero, public health and animal welfare outcomes. In the meantime, the Procurement Act 2023 allow contracts below certain spending thresholds to be reserved for smaller UK suppliers which presents a real opportunity for small and medium sized enterprises and public procurement.