Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the divergence between (a) UK and (b) EU regulations on products in contact with drinking water; and whether he is taking steps to help with additional compliance costs for companies supplying the UK market.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our drinking water regulations and approved regulator specifications are designed, in part, to protect human health by reducing the likelihood of contamination of drinking water supplies.
Our current Regulations allow certain other national specifications to be accepted by water undertakers, if they can demonstrate an equivalent level of protection and performance with our drinking water standards.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the EU's revised Drinking Water Directive on UK manufacturers of water-related products; and what steps he is taking to support businesses to meet the new compliance requirements.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our drinking water regulations and approved regulator specifications are designed, in part, to protect human health by reducing the likelihood of contamination of drinking water supplies.
Our current Regulations allow certain other national specifications to be accepted by water undertakers, if they can demonstrate an equivalent level of protection and performance with our drinking water standards.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his (a) plans and (b) priorities are for tackling animal cruelty (i) in the UK and (ii) abroad.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation. We will be outlining more detail in due course.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that proposed increases to consumer water bills are used for infrastructure investment.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
After writing to Ofwat, the Secretary of State has secured agreement that funding for vital infrastructure investment is ringfenced and can only be spent on upgrades benefiting customers and the environment. If that money is not spent, it will be refunded to customers – not diverted for bonuses, shareholder payouts or salary increases.