Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that people who live in coastal areas that experience high levels of sewage dumping do not face higher water bills as a result.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
For too long, investment has not kept pace with the challenges of an ageing infrastructure system, a rapidly growing population, and climate change. Bills will therefore now need to rise to invest in our crumbling infrastructure and deliver cleaner waterways.
As the independent economic regulator, it is Ofwat's responsibility to independently scrutinise water company business plans and ensure the prices water companies charge their customers are fair and proportionate. Ofwat will therefore publish their final determinations for Price Review 2024 on 19 December, which will set company expenditure and customer bills for 2025-2030.
During its first week of office, the Government announced funding for vital infrastructure investment is ringfenced and can only be spent on upgrades benefiting customers and the environment. Ofwat will therefore ensure when money for investment is not spent, companies refund customers, with money never allowed to be diverted for bonuses, dividends or salary increases.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 water bill increases on coastal communities that are affected by sewage dumping.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
For too long, investment has not kept pace with the challenges of an ageing infrastructure system, a rapidly growing population, and climate change. Bills will therefore now need to rise to invest in our crumbling infrastructure and deliver cleaner waterways.
As the independent economic regulator, it is Ofwat's responsibility to independently scrutinise water company business plans and ensure the prices water companies charge their customers are fair and proportionate. Ofwat will therefore publish their final determinations for Price Review 2024 on 19 December, which will set company expenditure and customer bills for 2025-2030.
During its first week of office, the Government announced funding for vital infrastructure investment is ringfenced and can only be spent on upgrades benefiting customers and the environment. Ofwat will therefore ensure when money for investment is not spent, companies refund customers, with money never allowed to be diverted for bonuses, dividends or salary increases.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of (a) the potential merits of compensating coastal communities disproportionately affected by sewage discharges for the environmental and economic damage caused and (b) whether such compensation could be funded through the water company regulatory framework.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Ofwat, the independent economic regulator, sets specific performance targets for companies in the five-yearly price review. Where companies fail to meet these targets, including pollution incidents, they must reimburse customers through lower water bills.
Additionally, under new proposals set out by this government on the Guaranteed Standards Scheme, households and businesses will be entitled to higher payments from water companies when basic services are not met. This includes payments for incidents of internal and external sewer flooding to a customer’s property.
On 23 October, the Secretary of State and the Welsh Government launched an Independent Commission into the water sector and its regulation, in what is expected to form the largest review of the industry since privatisation. These recommendations will form the basis of further legislation to attract long-term investment and clean up our waters for good.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 secure funding for rural housing enablers to support housing initiatives in rural areas.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to funding the Rural Housing Enabler programme until 31 March 2025. It is also providing over £5 billion total housing investment in 2025-26 to boost the supply of new housing, including in rural areas. This includes a £500 million top up to the Affordable Homes Programme. Other funding allocations for individual programmes for the next financial year will be determined in upcoming months through the department’s business planning exercise and announced in due course.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding his Department plans to provide to help manage the increased flood risk for rural areas prone to (a) river and (b) surface flooding in the 2025-26 financial year.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Across England, we will invest £2.4 billion over the next two years to improve flood resilience, by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences. The list of projects to receive Government funding in 2025/26 will be consented over the coming months in the usual way through Regional Flood and Coastal Committees, with local representation.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 tackle plastic pollution in (a) rural and (b) coastal areas.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to tackling all pollution, including plastic pollution. To reduce plastic pollution Defra has focused efforts on the most commonly used and littered plastic items. Bans and restrictions on single-use plastic cutlery, balloon sticks, straws, plastic-stemmed cotton buds, drink stirrers, expanded and extruded polystyrene takeaway containers, plates, bowls and microbeads have been introduced, as well as the single-use carrier bag charge.
To further reduce plastic pollution, this Government is committed to delivering the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drinks containers in October 2027, as agreed with the devolved governments of the UK, and in accordance with the Joint Policy Statement published in April 2024. It is estimated that the DRS could lead to an 85% reduction in litter of in-scope items, which includes plastic drinks containers.
At this stage, the Government has not yet made an assessment of what further actions to take to address the specific challenges associated with rural plastic pollution. Any new policies will be announced in the ordinary manner.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 with (a) local authorities and (b) businesses to help reduce plastic waste.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to moving to a circular economy. As a part of this transition, managing and reducing plastic waste and following the principles of the waste hierarchy – reduce, reuse, recycle – will be crucial.
Defra engages with and supports industry through the UK Plastics Pact to tackle plastic waste and pollution. The pact's membership represents two-thirds of all consumer packaging in the UK. Members have reduced their problematic and unnecessary plastic items by 84% since 2018.
On 24 October 2024, the Government laid the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024 in Parliament. This statutory instrument shifts the costs of managing household packaging waste (including plastic packaging waste) from taxpayers and local authorities to those businesses who use and supply the packaging. This policy will generate over £1 billion annually to support local authority waste and recycling collection and disposal services – benefiting every household in the UK.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to ensure that water companies do not allow storm sewage overflows to impact (a) rivers and (b) coastal areas in West Dorset constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has taken immediate and substantial action to address water companies who are not performing for the environment or their customers. In July, we announced swift action to begin resetting the water sector, including ringfencing vital funding for infrastructure investment and placing customers and the environment at the heart of water company objectives.
In September, Government introduced the Water (Special Measures) Bill to give regulators new powers to take tougher and faster action to crack down on water companies damaging the environment and failing their customers.
Furthermore, on 23 October, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Welsh government, launched an Independent Commission on the water sector regulatory system, to fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.
All storm overflows in the West Dorset constituency are now fitted with event duration monitors and, from January 2025, water companies will have a duty to publish spill frequency and duration data in near real-time.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) funding and (b) other support his Department is providing to farmers to transition to more sustainable agricultural practices in West Dorset constituency.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra’s farming budget will be £2.4 billion in 2025/26. This will include the largest ever budget directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history: £1.8 billion for environmental land management schemes. This funding will deliver improvements to food security, biodiversity, carbon emissions, water quality, air quality and flood resilience.
Environmental Land Management schemes will remain at the centre of our offer for farmers, with the Sustainable Farming Incentive, Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier and Landscape Recovery all continuing. These offer funding streams for farmers to make their businesses more sustainable and resilient, including those who have been often ignored such as small, grassland, upland and tenant farmers.
We will work with the sector to continue to roll out, improve and evolve these schemes, to make them work for farming and nature.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 encourage afforestation projects to (a) enhance biodiversity and (b) reduce carbon emissions.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Total tree planting and woodland creation reached over 5,500 hectares in England in 2023/24.
All publicly subsidised afforestation projects must comply with the UK Forestry Standards (UKFS) requirements. The UKFS has been developed specifically for forestry in the UK and is based on applying internationally agreed criteria which support the delivery of sustainable forest management and recognise the need to balance environmental, economic and social objectives.
The England Woodland Creation Offer includes supplements that incentivise the creation of native woodland with high biodiversity potential. Biodiversity Net Gain also offers opportunities to create new woodlands that enhance biodiversity.