Environment Bill

Baroness Quin Excerpts

Report stage
Monday 13th September 2021 Lords Chamber

The proposed new clause in Amendment 83 would provide the mechanism to develop a designation for chalk streams, giving greater protection and driving greater resources and investment into their management. It would require the Government to adopt a catchment-based approach chalk stream restoration strategy, to develop an action plan and to report on progress. On numerous occasions, the Government have said in this Chamber that chalk streams are their high priority; adopting the sentiments of Amendment 83 is an opportunity to demonstrate just this.

[Baroness Quin (Lab)]

My Lords, I rise to support very briefly the amendments moved by the noble Duke, the Duke of Wellington. I was glad to be able to co-sign these amendments in a way that, I hope, will stress the cross-party nature of the support for them.

Public concern about sewage discharge is increasing daily, particularly among the public in those areas that are badly affected. Indeed, many people are astonished, because they did not imagine that raw sewage could be discharged into our rivers and seas, and certainly not on the scale that it is happening.

There are considerable problems around the country. Speaking to another amendment that I support, the noble Lord, Lord Chidgey, talked about the situation affecting chalk streams. He mentioned, among others, the River Chess in Buckinghamshire. I would mention the River Lark, near Bury St Edmunds, which also has problems arising from abstraction. There are many other rivers around the country that are very precious natural resources, including my own home river, the River Coquet in Northumberland.

I know that the Minister has had meetings with the noble Duke and with many others, and I recognise the amendments that have been put forward, particularly on real-time reporting, which is extremely important. However, action is needed on a significant scale and, in dealing with this problem, costly though it is, we cannot just do a little in a lot of rivers: that would just be a sticking-plaster. We need a much more ambitious programme.

I hope, therefore, that the Government will accept the amendments, and if they do not and they are pushed to a vote, I will be very happy to support them.