Rivers, Lakes and Seas: Water Quality Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Dave Robertson
Main Page: Dave Robertson (Labour - Lichfield)Department Debates - View all Dave Robertson's debates with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Rivers, Lakes and Seas: Water Quality
Dave Robertson Excerpts(3 days, 10 hours ago)
Westminster HallRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Westminster Hall is an alternative Chamber for MPs to hold debates, named after the adjoining Westminster Hall.
Each debate is chaired by an MP from the Panel of Chairs, rather than the Speaker or Deputy Speaker. A Government Minister will give the final speech, and no votes may be called on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
Dave Robertson (Lichfield) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to take part in a debate with you in the Chair, Mr Dowd. Diolch yn fawr to my hon. Friend the Member for Monmouthshire (Catherine Fookes) for securing this debate.
There has been a lot of talk today about the issue of sewage dumping and the important Water (Special Measures) Bill, which I fully support. However, I am here to talk about Bown Pond in Fradley, a village in my constituency. On 11 December last year it had a serious pollution incident involving not sewage, but some form of hydrocarbon—probably an oil, but we are yet to see the result. The lake is well respected by local residents and it is a huge amenity for the village, but when the foam discovered on the surface of the pond was identified, that was followed by almost all the fish in the pond dying and a whole family of swans needing to be transferred to Linjoy Wildlife Sanctuary in Burton. I really commend the sanctuary for its work, but unfortunately it was unable to save the cygnets and had to put the swans to sleep, because whatever was in the water had burned the swan’s tongues, leaving ulcers. That was a real concern to residents in Fradley and me, and a very distressing incident for everybody concerned.
I know the Environment Agency is working hard on it, but almost a month later we have not yet had the results of the investigations into the water. At this point, I ask the Minister: can we look very closely at the resourcing of the Environment Agency? After 14 years of cuts upon cuts, we need to make sure that we are giving that vital piece of our regulatory framework the resources that it needs to investigate such incidents and make sure that prosecutions follow up where necessary.
Peter Dowd (in the Chair)
I would like to give Catherine Fookes a minute or two at the end to wind up, so I hope the Minister and spokespersons will bear that in mind.