Water Company Performance Publication
Emma Hardy Excerpts(1 week ago)
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The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
Today, for the first time, the Environment Agency, Ofwat, Natural Resources Wales and the Drinking Water Inspectorate are publishing a joint water company performance insights report. This reflects the Government’s drive for more integrated regulation of the sector, leaving companies with nowhere to hide poor performance. Alongside the environmental performance assessment for 2025 and operational performance report for 2025-26, it gives the public an overarching picture of how their water companies are performing and makes clear where companies are failing to deliver for the environment. Joined up scrutiny means companies can no longer point to progress in one area to distract from failures in another.
The findings show why change cannot wait. Poor performance is unacceptable. Pollution remains far too high, with too many serious pollution incidents. Only one company achieved the top four-star environmental rating, and four received the lowest one-star rating—the chief executive officers for these companies will not be eligible for bonuses under the new rules we have introduced. Too many customers still face avoidable service failures. Improvements in some areas do not excuse persistent failings elsewhere. While drinking water quality remains high, and though there has been progress on some customer and environmental measures, performance in other areas continues to fall short.
I am demanding answers from underperforming companies. Ministers will visit companies with the most serious pollutions to see what actions they are taking to prevent them happening again. We will call in chief executives to challenge failures and scrutinise delivery of vital infrastructure improvements. My message to the sector is clear: cut pollution, tackle leaks, improve customer service and deliver the infrastructure needed to secure future water supplies. The record investment approved for 2025 to ’30 must translate into visible improvements for customers, communities and the environment—not more excuses.
We have strengthened regulators’ enforcement powers through the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025. Companies that fail must face consequences, including fines and prosecutions where performance falls short. But accountability today must go hand in hand with lasting reform. Our forthcoming 10-year plan for Britain will set out stronger public control over water, underpinned by a strengthened Water Bill. The Secretary of State has already set out her expectations for the next price review to deliver better value for money for struggling households. More joined-up regulation now is part of building a water system that protects the environment, secures supplies and earns back the trust of the people who pay for it.
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Data Centres: Responsible Water and Energy Use
Emma Hardy Excerpts(1 week, 1 day ago)
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The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
Today, along with the Minister for Artificial Intelligence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Vale of Glamorgan (Kanishka Narayan), and the Minister for Energy, my hon. Friend the Member for Rutherglen (Michael Shanks), I wish to update the House on the Government’s approach to supporting the sustainable growth of data centres while protecting England’s water resources and helping to maintain a secure, affordable and flexible electricity system.
This statement is part of the Government’s package to deliver responsible data centre growth that backs investment and delivers for host communities. The package combines immediate action with longer-term reform. It aims to strengthen national resilience and support UK supply chains, skills and jobs, while unlocking investment and capacity to underpin AI-driven growth and productivity, built around four expectations: to protect bill payers; to put communities and their resources first; to reindustrialise Britain; and to strengthen UK sovereignty.
Data centres are critical national infrastructure that underpin almost all economic activity and enable the digital services that people and businesses rely on every day, from NHS patient records and banking platforms to communications and entertainment. In the water sector, they will improve how water mains, sewers and treatment plants are managed, enabling water companies to identify and address problems before failures occur. They will play an increasingly important role in national security, resilience and sovereign capability as well as delivering the Government’s ambitions for economic growth, world-leading scientific research, artificial intelligence and improved public services.
The impact of data centres on energy and water systems
As the sector grows, it is important that development takes place in a way that is environmentally sustainable and resilient to future pressures on both water resources and energy systems. Co-ordinated planning is therefore required to ensure that future demand can be met sustainably, while supporting the UK’s long-term water and energy resilience.
Data centres already require substantial electricity supplies, with current UK demand estimated at around 2 GW. Future requirements remain uncertain but could increase significantly as demand for compute and AI grows. Large, continuous and geographically concentrated demand can require additional generation and network infrastructure and create pressures on network capacity, system operability and security of supply. Greater energy efficiency, and flexibility in when, where and how energy is used, can help to manage these impacts and support a more efficient and resilient electricity system.
Evidence gathered by the Government and stakeholders suggests that current data centre water use remains a relatively small proportion of overall non-household consumption—estimated as less than 0.2% of the non-household sector in England—and that many facilities across England already use highly water-efficient cooling technologies. However, rates of potential future growth of the sector, particularly in areas already experiencing water stress that are more adversely affected during hotter periods, mean that greater action on controlling water use is crucial. Increased transparency and information sharing by the data centre sector on long-term planning and water use will be increasingly important. Water companies do not have to supply data centres with water, and therefore early engagement from data centre developers is essential.
Energy and water use are closely linked. Data centre cooling can involve trade-offs between the two: some technologies can reduce energy consumption but increase water demand. Decisions on cooling should therefore reflect local water availability, energy efficiency and broader environmental considerations, rather than considering either resource in isolation.
Improving transparency
The Government recognise the importance of robust and transparent data in planning for sustainable data centre growth, particularly given increasing public scrutiny, concerns from local communities, and heightened media interest in the sector. Greater visibility of water and energy will support water companies, regional planning groups, electricity network and system operators, regulators and the Government to understand future demand and ensure that long-term infrastructure and resource planning keeps pace with investment and development.
To improve transparency across the sector, we strongly encourage all data centre operators to publish and share with the Government annual reporting on environmental metrics, including water use and energy performance. Data centre operators should disclose total and peak water use, together with their water usage effectiveness. On energy, these disclosures should include power usage effectiveness, energy reuse factor, and an appropriate organisational carbon disclosure. Reporting should also cover the site’s technical capability to provide electricity system flexibility and its participation in flexibility services, whether directly or through a third party.
We will work with industry and regulators to develop consistent definitions and proportionate arrangements for the scope, verification and publication of this reporting. We expect the sector to provide this information voluntarily. However, if sufficient data is not provided, we will immediately consider whether a statutory reporting framework is required to ensure appropriate transparency and accountability.
Water and heat reuse
The Government ask developers to adopt a water use hierarchy for data centre development. Demand reduction and alternative water supplies have the potential to reduce pressure on drinking water resources and the environment while supporting continued investment in digital infrastructure. The water use hierarchy asks developers to:
Minimise water demand through water-efficient design, the provision of on-site water storage, operational optimisation, and the use of waterless or water-efficient cooling technologies.
Utilise recycled water once all reasonable demand-management options have been exhausted. Identify the most appropriate recycled source, starting with simpler and more sustainable options, such as rainwater harvesting, before moving to more complex sources, such as water reuse and treated waste water where these are environmentally appropriate and economically viable.
Only where demand management and recycled sources have been fully assessed and it is clear they cannot reasonably meet operational requirements should reliance on additional fresh water from the public water supply or environment be considered.
The Government will continue to explore and consider innovative solutions to demand management and use of alternative water sources. Treated waste water could provide a valuable alternative source of water for data centres and other contained industrial uses, particularly where it can reduce demand on drinking water supplies in water-stressed areas. We will work with water companies, developers and other relevant bodies to explore suitable projects that can demonstrate how treated waste water can be used safely and effectively for cooling and other non-potable applications. The Government and regulators are currently working together to clarify the regulatory pathways and identify practical opportunities for safe and sustainable reuse. This includes considering proportionate approaches for suitable lower-risk schemes, while ensuring that risks to the environment and public health are properly understood and managed.
Decisions on cooling should also assess the interaction between water and energy use so that reductions in one resource do not create disproportionate impacts on the other.
Data centre developers should consider opportunities to make productive use of waste heat. For new developments and material expansions, developers should undertake a heat reuse feasibility assessment, considering the proximity of potential users or networks, and the technical and practical requirements for connection. The findings should inform site design and identify whether a deliverable heat off-take arrangement is feasible. Where reuse is not pursued, the assessment should clearly explain why it is not deliverable.
Environmental resilience and sustainable growth
The Government encourage data centre developers and operators to take a strategic approach to understanding and managing their environmental dependencies, impacts and resource demands, helping to ensure that future growth supports long-term resilience and sustainable outcomes.
To do this, we ask data centre developers and operators to undertake location-specific assessments of their impacts and dependencies on nature and the energy system, and encourage both, where appropriate, to use the taskforce on nature-related financial disclosures’ LEAP approach: locate, evaluate, assess and prepare.
We expect data centre developers to carefully consider anticipated water demand and efficiency, the availability of water resources, and waste water disposal within the relevant catchment. Assessment should be developed in consultation with the relevant water company, taking account of its water resources management plan and drainage and waste water management plan. The findings should inform decisions about site location and cooling technology. We expect that, by securing their own resilience, in the face of water scarcity, data centres will pave the way for future policy considering how other business and public users can maximise the value of their water.
We expect assessments to also consider the site’s expected electricity demand, peak load, energy efficiency, opportunities for demand flexibility, and the feasibility of recovering and reusing waste heat. These considerations should inform site design and early engagement with electricity network operators, local authorities and potential heat users.
We also encourage collaboration to identify opportunities that can strengthen water resilience and deliver wider environmental benefits. This includes exploring opportunities to support catchment-scale initiatives, and encouraging data centres to assess opportunities for co-location with complementary infrastructure to maximise the recovery and beneficial use of waste water and waste heat. Sites that incorporate environmental and drainage and waste water co-benefits—for example rain water management, sustainable drainage systems and tree planting features—are strongly encouraged. Planning applications should demonstrate that opportunities to connect waste heat to local heat networks, or the reuse of waste water within nearby industrial, energy and utility systems, have been considered.
Sustainable growth of the data centre sector and environmental stewardship must go hand in hand. By encouraging efficient use of water and energy, promoting the use of appropriate alternative water sources, improving transparency and supporting better long-term planning, the Government can enable continued investment in this strategically important sector while protecting water resources and supporting a secure and resilient electricity system.
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Flood Resilience
Emma Hardy Excerpts(1 week, 1 day ago)
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The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
I will do my best to croak my way through the rest of the debate. I thank the hon. Member for North Herefordshire (Dr Chowns) for securing this really important debate. It was heartening that there was so much I found myself nodding along with as she was speaking.
I know that the emotional and financial impact of flooding can be devastating on families and businesses. Like the hon. Lady, I have spoken to many people who have been affected by floods, including farmers whose crops have been damaged. I have also seen and heard from communities affected by flooding. It is not just about the economic impact, but about the impact on their mental health and wellbeing. The scars of flooding remain for a long time after the floodwaters recede.
I completely agree with the hon. Lady’s points about climate change. The situation now is that 81% of the country in drought, but we saw some flooding just last week—and one area that is in drought had a flood as well. We are dealing with the impact of climate change, which is absolutely here and now.
On a slightly different note, I find it frustrating that some parties in the House do not seem to accept that climate change is both real and here. Luckily, I can look around the Chamber and see that nobody in here currently does so, which is positive. As the hon. Lady said, this year may be especially challenging because we are expecting a strong El Niño, with an increased likelihood of wetter and stormier conditions across the UK during autumn and winter.
We are better prepared this year than we were last, and last year we were better prepared than we were the year before. That is partly because of the number of flood defences we have been able to build successfully and partly because we have been able to restore and maintain more of our flood defences. It is also because with the original floods taskforce, after each episode of flooding each winter, we wanted to do some honest lessons learned on what worked, what did not and what we could do better and set up that cycle of continuous improvement; the hon. Lady was right on that. I am therefore pleased that now, through the flood and drought resilience taskforce, we are thinking about this together. I fully agreed with the hon. Lady on how the things that help with drought help with flooding as well. If the soil can retain more moisture, that helps with drought in the summer—that helps with groundwater levels—but it will also absorb more water when there is a flood.
It was interesting that the hon. Lady mentioned the Netherlands. Just last week, I met someone and talked to them about their regional planning and—exactly as the hon. Lady said—how they look at a region and decide what is the best intervention to take in that area. We are looking to introduce a regional approach for water in this country. That is what is on my mind—what is the best answer? Water pollution has not been mentioned in the debate, but we know that too much rainwater ending up in the system can create overflows. If we have areas where we can hold more water—this adds to why we should be doing this and why it is a good thing—that helps to decrease pollution.
Of course, I have huge admiration for Flood Mary, who is a wonderful person; I wholeheartedly agree with the hon. Lady on that. The flood recovery framework is run by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, but I will ensure that the hon. Lady’s remarks are heard by the relevant Minister.
The existing flood resilience taskforce, which I have already mentioned, is all about how we prepare not only for more frequent periods of increased rainfall but frequent periods of low rainfall, looking at those two sides of the same coin. As the hon. Lady said, the eighth wettest winter in England since 1836 was followed in some parts of the country by the driest summer in a century. That brings the challenges together.
My focus at the moment is how we take the rain as it falls, and when it falls, how we use it to fill up our reservoirs so we are in the best possible position for March. It is also about how we make it easier for farmers. I am interested in what the hon. Lady mentioned about the work that her farmers are doing in their area. There is a great scheme by a water abstraction group in another part of the country, and it is absolutely one way to go forward. We have brought more people into the taskforce than ever before, and as the hon. Lady mentioned, some of the action groups are taking away specific actions.
I know the hon. Lady was on the Environmental Audit Committee, and one of the things that we have taken from the recommendations in the Committee’s report, which was a really good piece of work, was about how we create that one-stop shop for information. We have launched Flood Action online, which is about helping communities to understand their flood risk and to look for flood information. It would be so helpful if colleagues around the Chamber could help share that and get that information out. While I am asking everyone for favours, the Priority Services Register helps to identify people who are vulnerable and who would need water in case of an outage, because flooding can cause problems with water supply—anything on that would be super helpful.
We have changed the rules on investment. I know that the hon. Lady and I agree on our love of nature-based solutions and slowing the flow, which is a win for everybody. I was pleased to hear that there are some in her area as well. We are talking about a minimum level of investment, so the only thing I would correct my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Dr Opher) on is that it is not just a small amount of money that is going in; it is a minimum amount. We set it as a minimum because we want to encourage people to use more nature-based solutions where possible. The pushback I get is that it is not always suitable. Of course, it is not always suitable everywhere, but I think where we can, let us let nature do what it does best. If that helps slow the flow and creates and supports biodiversity, surely we can all get behind it.
While I have the Floor, and I am able to, I will talk a little bit about what we have been doing. After more than a decade of under-investment by the previous Government, we have invested £2.65 billion in our first two years, delivered real change, stabilised the condition of existing defences and done 250 flood defence projects, with new and improved defences coming online. The hon. Lady is right again: the money that we have put into that will prevent an estimated £10 billion in economic damage, provide communities with better protection, restore pride in our towns and defend valuable farmland from regular flooding.
Earlier this year, we announced our 10-year flood and coastal erosion investment programme, which will benefit 200,000 properties over the next three years. The targets are ambitious, but I am proud to get behind them. The programme is forecast to generate more than £27 billion of avoided economic damage, so I think that is pretty good for an investment of £7.9 billion. I think I should have mentioned that earlier in front of the Chancellor, but I will keep mentioning it—almost £7 of benefit for every £1 invested.
The Environment Agency continues to work with Herefordshire council and the River Lugg internal drainage board to reduce that risk faced by local communities. I am aware of the £276,000 investment in a new hydraulic model of the River Wye to improve the evidence base for future investment planning and development decisions along the river.
Turning to house building, although the hon. Lady knows that I am not directly responsible for it, I will reiterate the Government’s stance. The Government are committed to building the homes the country needs while ensuring they are resilient and safe from flooding, and a consultation on the new national planning policy framework concluded recently.
The updated policy clarifies how key flood risk tests should be applied and strengthens policies relating to coastal risk. Policy remains clear that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided by directing development away from areas of highest risk. Where development is necessary in areas at risk of flooding, permission should be granted only if it can be demonstrated that the development will be safe for its lifetime, without increasing flood risk elsewhere. Additionally, the NPPF now requires sustainable drainage systems in new developments, designed to the national standards.
I am pleased that the hon. Lady also mentioned property flood resilience, which is another of my favourite things. The “FloodReady” report was published in October last year, with 22 recommendations and 50 supporting actions across six themes. We are looking at how we can move this forward and keep meeting regularly with the leadership group to see where we can make this something that is considered more of a normal part of something people do every day. The chair now sits on the flood resilience groups, which is really positive as well.
This Government are committed to strengthening resilience to flooding, not only to keep people safe but to support economic growth in rural and local communities across the country. By protecting businesses, reducing disruption and safeguarding jobs, these measures contribute to stability and growth in the face of increased climate change and flood risk. The Government’s record investment in flood defences will benefit communities across the country, and our reforms to the flood funding rules will ensure a more balanced system that strengthens rural resilience and delivers benefits for farming communities and the environment alike. This is a personal priority for me, and it is a privilege to be the Minister responsible for flooding. I remain determined to ensure that our approach to flood risk is effective and co-ordinated to support the public we all serve.
Question put and agreed to.
Oral Answers to Questions
Emma Hardy Excerpts(2 weeks ago)
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Dan Aldridge (Weston-super-Mare) (Lab)
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
We have strengthened regulation and enforcement, driving record water company investment into waste water infrastructure to improve nearly 3,000 storm overflows across England and Wales. The strengthened Water Bill will go further in tackling sewage pollution from water companies, private sewage and catchment-wide pre-pipe and source-control conditions.
Dan Aldridge
A recent report by Surfers Against Sewage alleges that water companies across England failed to report more than 50,000 sewage spills within the legally required timeframe in just the first half of this year. Like many residents across Weston, Worle and the villages, I am deeply concerned about the impact of sewage pollution and will always urge the Government to go faster and harder to tackle the crisis. Will the Minister tell us what more the Government will do to hold water companies to account in coastal communities such as mine, so constituencies have confidence that our much-loved waterways and coastlines are protected?
Emma Hardy
My hon. Friend is right to be angry about the failure of water companies to report sewage pollution on time. Our Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 will enact automatic penalties for companies that fail to report sewage pollution within four hours. As he will have seen from South West Water’s recent £8 million fine for sewage pollution incidents, this Government take enforcement seriously.
Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)
We desperately need to reduce rainwater run-off into our sewage system to prevent storm overflows. In Bath, Wessex Water runs community water butt schemes and flood mitigation pilots, which prevent rainwater run-off from entering our sewers, ensuring they are not overwhelmed. What steps are the Government taking to ensure that more customers and householders can have access to water butts?
Emma Hardy
The hon. Lady raises one of my favourite things, which is talking about pre-pipe solutions: in a nutshell, how we prevent—[Interruption.] They are very exciting. They are about how we prevent water from entering the sewage system and overwhelming it in the first place. They link perfectly with nature-based solutions, help to ensure that our soils are wetter and help against drought. I agree with the hon. Lady that we need more of them, and that includes water companies providing water butts for more of their customers. That will help with the overwhelming of the sewage system and help customers to water their gardens when there is less rain.
Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
Last year, there were 392,000 sewage spills across our country, 4,000 of which happened in the precious waters of Cumbria’s lakes and dales, and meanwhile companies rewarded their shareholders for that failure with increased dividends of £845 million. Isn’t it time instead to put failing water companies into administration? In the forthcoming water Bill—it would be good if the Minister could tell us when we might expect it—will the Minister bring forward a plan to create a new watchdog, with teeth, and transform our water companies into being mutually owned, so that money stops leaking out of the system and instead funds a clean-up of our waterways and water industry?
Emma Hardy
I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will have noticed that, since we came into power, we have been taking enforcement seriously. Fines just this year include a £7.1 million fine and a £2.4 million fine for illegal sewage pollution against Southern Water and a £7.87 million fine against South West Water—and I have not even included all the Ofwat enforcement undertakings and the fines included there. He will have heard what our Prime Minister said: we are strengthening our water Bill and will bring it forward soon. We are not taking options off the table, and we are serious about fixing the mess that we were left to deal with when we came into power.
Ashley Dalton (West Lancashire) (Lab)
Kevin Bonavia (Stevenage) (Lab)
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
Fly-tipping is unacceptable. It blights communities, harms the environment and imposes significant costs on taxpayers and businesses. Those responsible should be cleaning it up and paying for it. That is why we have strengthened the powers and penalties available to councils, to ensure that vandals face real consequences, and we are consulting on making them clean up their own mess.
Melanie Onn
I thank the Minister for that response. Fly-tipping is a real scourge for my Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes constituents. Whether it is in alleyways or local beauty spots, it is so disappointing, especially when so many members of the community are involved in doing community clean-ups. As the Minister said, the Government have done a huge amount of work, increasing fines to £5,000 and giving powers to scrap vehicles once they are seized, but those powers are only effective if they are used. Will she join me in urging my Reform-led North East Lincolnshire council to make greater use of these enforcement powers?
Emma Hardy
My hon. Friend is right to raise that. Her constituents are, understandably, frustrated, and I share her confusion as to why her council does not want to use the powers it has been given to fine fly-tippers, seize their vans and prosecute them. I join her in urging her council to do the job it has been elected to do, and I hope her residents remember this lack of action when it comes to the next election.
Adam Thompson
Trafalgar Square—not the one down the road, but the much smaller one back home in Erewash—is a private road with a persistent fly-tipping problem. There are signs up that ask people to stop doing it. I have reported it loads of times to the council, and so do local people all the time, but if the piles of bulky waste in the area get cleared, they come back almost immediately, so today I am escalating this. Could the Minister elaborate on how the Government are working to get a grip on fly-tipping, particularly in hotspots like Trafalgar Square in Long Eaton?
Emma Hardy
I completely understand the frustration of my hon. Friend’s constituents at repeated fly-tipping on private roads. We are taking this seriously. We have increased the maximum fine for offenders to £5,000, and we are working on advising the owners of private land on land security through the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group. We are happy to give that advice to private landowners, but where we find out who is responsible, we will not hesitate in going after them.
Kevin Bonavia
Like many other MPs, I am often reporting the worst examples of fly-tipping to our local councils. My most recent case is on Marymead Drive, with boards and tarpaulin thrown under trees and walls graffitied. I expect that Stevenage borough council staff will be on to this as quickly as possible, but they should not have to do it in the first place. What assurances can the Minister give me and the House about the Government’s war on waste crime and whether it will extend to graffiti and reduce these instances of fly-tipping?
Emma Hardy
It is good to hear about a council being proactive and cleaning up some of this mess. I agree that graffiti and fly-tipping offences are unacceptable. Graffiti is a separate offence from fly-tipping, but local councils can issue fixed penalties of up to £500 for graffiti offences, and we are consulting on powers for councils to use conditional cautions, requiring offenders to clean up their mess and cover the clean-up costs, instead of simply walking away from the damage they cause.
John Glen (Salisbury) (Con)
A constituent got in touch with me last week to point out that farmers are often the ones who are left to deal with fly-tipping, but I note in the Government’s response on Tuesday that insurance is one option that could be available. What progress is the Minister making in talking to insurance companies about making fly-tipping part of a routine farm policy that farmers could take out against this scourge?
Emma Hardy
The right hon. Gentleman raises an important point. I absolutely sympathise with farmers, who, as he rightly highlighted, often see repeated dumping on their private land. As I mentioned, there is the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group. I meet insurers regularly—in fact, I met them all last week—and I will certainly raise the issue of how we can ensure that farmers get the support they need in having to deal with a problem that is simply not of their making.
Andrew George (St Ives) (LD)
Local authorities will be looking to the Environment Agency to set standards as far as enforcement action is concerned. Trevoole Moor in my constituency is the fifth largest illegal dump in the country, affecting a nature reserve, but the Environment Agency has decided not to take enforcement action. When I discussed this with the Environment Agency, it said that it deals with these matters on a case-by-case basis. Will the Minister ensure that the guidance the Environment Agency uses is published, so that we can properly understand where and why it makes these decisions?
Emma Hardy
The hon. Gentleman raises an important issue. We have these illegal sites around the country; we are focusing heavily on the prevention side, before crimes are committed. We have already published the toughest ever waste crime action plan, given £45 million extra to the Environment Agency for frontline enforcement, granted new powers and expanded the joint unit for waste crime. We are going after prevention and are trying to clean up as many sites as possible, but fundamentally, we believe it is the polluter and not the taxpayer who should pay for the clean-up, and that is always the first route that we will pursue.
Sir Ashley Fox (Bridgwater) (Con)
Waste crime and fly-tipping affect rural communities across Somerset. While I welcome the action that the Government are taking, does the Minister agree that the very substantial increases that we have seen in landfill tax enable rogue waste operators to undercut legitimate businesses? Does she accept that those substantial tax increases are fuelling waste crime, and will she join me in asking the Chancellor to cut those taxes?
Emma Hardy
The main problem that we have in the country is the serious organised crime behind some of these criminal activities, and that is exactly what we are going after through the new crackdown group, on which we are working with the National Crime Agency. We are escalating this issue and taking it extremely seriously because, as the hon. Gentleman said, we want to support legitimate businesses that are doing the right thing and get the criminals out of this industry.
Sir John Whittingdale (Maldon) (Con)
Adrian Ramsay (Waveney Valley) (Green)
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
The Government are working hard to prepare communities for flooding this winter. Last week was Flood Action Week, and a wide range of information was communicated to citizens on how to protect themselves, their homes and their businesses. My personal favourite is the new Scout badge; if Members have children who are in the Scouts, they can now earn a badge saying “be prepared”, which I thought was brilliant. The communication targeted young adults, renters, householders, children, rural communities—quite frankly, everyone.
Adrian Ramsay
I thank the Minister for her reply. We have already seen unprecedented climate impacts this summer, and with the super El Niño on its way, we will see threats to global weather patterns, including a forecasted colder, wetter and stormier winter for the UK. How is she working across Government to ensure that preparedness for flooding risks this winter are stepped up, to keep our communities safe?
Emma Hardy
The hon. Gentleman raises a really important point. We used to have the flood taskforce; just last week, we held the first meeting of the new flood and drought taskforce, which was attended by four Ministers—from DEFRA, the Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and the Department for Transport. The focus of that meeting absolutely was how we can be most prepared. I am determined that this year, because of El Niño and the concerns that the hon. Gentleman rightly raised, we will be more prepared than ever before. That is why we have done everything from targeting children and families, all the way through to looking at our transport system, resilience across Government and local resilience forums to see whether they are ready if the worst should happen. We are going out to every area and talking to Ministers across Government, so that they can contact the organisations for which they are responsible and ask them if they are prepared and ready. Although I cannot stop it raining, I want us to be as prepared as possible when it does rain.
Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)
As hon. Members will remember, it is almost a year since devastating floods hit Monmouth, and parts of the town have flooded several times in the past few years. I spoke to a constituent yesterday who had been flooded in a previous flood. Such was the damage, they were not able to get back in their house for two years. Will the Minister look at upstream flood resilience measures, over the border in England, to reduce the risk of flooding to communities like mine?
Emma Hardy
My hon. Friend raises an important point. I remember that flood. I commend her now, as I did then, on the compassionate, caring and supportive way in which she went out there to help her constituents, and I know how much the events affected her. She is right to talk about catchment-based flood management, looking upstream and using more nature-based solutions. I know the Environment Agency is working well with its Welsh counterparts to see what more can be done in this area.
Douglas McAllister (West Dunbartonshire) (Lab)
Patrick Hurley (Southport) (Lab)
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
My hon. Friend raises an important point. We intend to lay the statutory instrument before Parliament by the end of this year, subject to availability of parliamentary time.
Rebecca Smith (South West Devon) (Con)
Baggy Shanker (Derby South) (Lab/Co-op)
Emma Hardy
Our Prime Minister is committed to introducing public control of the water sector. Just last month, we announced that we will remove Thatcher’s outdated cap on Government ownership of water companies. Later this year, our 10-year plan for Britain will set out plans for stronger public control over the water sector, making it work for people and places again.
Sir John Whittingdale (Maldon) (Con)
Melanie Onn (Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes) (Lab)
Emma Hardy
Many of our older constituents, including my mum, remember returning bottles to the recycling bank and receiving money for them; it made sense then, and it makes sense now. Significant progress has been made on the deposit return scheme, but there is still lots of work to do.
Olly Glover (Didcot and Wantage) (LD)
Both public and private sector organisations sometimes experience year-long delays in obtaining permits from the Environment Agency to undertake desilting and other critical watercourse flood prevention work. Will the Minister meet me to understand these issues and ensure resources are getting to where they are needed, to keep our homes and businesses safe?
Emma Hardy
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question, and will make sure that the relevant Environment Agency area director meets him to look at the concerns he has raised.
Michelle Scrogham (Barrow and Furness) (Lab)
Yesterday, I attended an event on fixing the sewage in Lake Windermere. Does the Minister agree that United Utilities needs to address the long-overdue flooding issues at Ulverston before it adds additional pressure to that area of the system?
Emma Hardy
My hon. Friend is quite right that we need to start thinking about flooding and water management in a more holistic way. We are looking at early roll-out of regional planning systems, which means we will start to address the issues of water quality and of flooding and water scarcity in the same area. My hon. Friend is right to hold water companies to account for delivering on the commitments they have made.
Drought Conditions: England
Emma Hardy Excerpts(2 weeks, 6 days ago)
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The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
Before I turn to the statement, I would like to add my voice to the many others offering sympathy and support to the family of Sir David Amess in the week of the anniversary of his murder. It was always a real pleasure to work with him on the all-party parliamentary group on endometriosis. He is remembered very fondly.
With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I wish to update the House on the ongoing drought in England. Drought conditions continue across much of England. Last week Yorkshire moved into drought status. That means that over 80% of England is now in drought, affecting around 50 million people. The south-east and south-west in particular have experienced their driest April to September in over a century, with low rainfall causing exceptionally low reservoir levels in parts of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex and West Sussex.
As of 15 October, Wimbleball reservoir is approximately 16% full—its lowest recorded level for this time of year. Other reservoirs in the south-west are also at exceptionally low levels, including those serving the Roadford and Colliford water resource zones, and Ardingly reservoir, for example, is around 20% full.
As a result, yesterday the Government declared severe drought in the affected water resource zones around Wimbleball, Ardingly, Roadford and Colliford, and in west Cornwall. I have issued a ministerial direction to the Environment Agency to prioritise protecting public water supplies in areas affected by severe drought where there is an unavoidable trade-off between environmental rules and water supplies. That will allow water companies to keep more water in depleted reservoirs. The Environment Agency has also agreed temporary measures that will conserve water in Wimbleball and extend the resilience of public water supplies.
Severe drought is the highest classification in the Environment Agency’s drought framework. While customer supplies are not interrupted, declaring a severe drought allows us to ensure that proactive steps are taken to safeguard water before any disruption occurs. We have instructed water companies to conduct daily monitoring of reservoir and river levels and tougher water quality monitoring. The Environment Agency will increase compliance checks on businesses that withdraw water from natural sources to ensure that they are only taking permitted quantities of water. Local resilience forums will be stood up to enable quick and effective development of support if required.
Although water companies remain responsible for maintaining public water supplies and for taking action under their drought and emergency plans, we can all help by thinking about ways to use water wisely over the coming weeks. However, this level of drought is something that we have not experienced for decades, so it is right that the Government step up our support and work closely with water companies to protect public supplies in the areas affected.
Over recent days, I have met with those leading efforts to protect water supplies in affected areas, including Wimbleball. On Wednesday I visited Wimbleball reservoir, where I met South West Water, Wessex Water, local resilience forums and Environment Agency teams to discuss the actions they are taking to protect public water supply. Yesterday I met the chief executive of South East Water and representatives from the Environment Agency to review conditions at Ardingly reservoir and the response in the south-east. I have also spoken with Members of Parliament who represent affected constituencies and sent letters explaining the steps that they can take to support our resilience efforts in their local areas.
This week I chaired the first meeting of the Government’s new flood and drought resilience taskforce, bringing together over 50 stakeholders to strengthen the nation’s ability to plan for and respond to extreme weather, and I continue to oversee response measures through weekly national drought group meetings, to track that all necessary actions are taken to conserve water resources and maintain resilience.
While the record-breaking heat and lack of rainfall have put our water resources under immense pressure this year, we must take action now to prevent this situation from becoming the norm. We are at the start of a decade-long journey to a very different water system, including nine new major reservoirs to secure supplies. I will continue to take the action needed to protect essential public water supplies and, of course, I will continue to keep the House and Members informed as the situation develops.
Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)
I thank the Minister for advance sight of her statement. Today’s update reinforces what farmers, rural communities and households have known for months: England is in the grip of a drought, and the Government have been slow to react. Eleven areas are now in drought, with Yorkshire the latest to be declared. Ten water companies have hosepipe bans in force. Drought-related environmental incidents have already overtaken the totals of 2022 and 2025. This is the third drought in five years. It should not have caught the Government off guard, but here we are on a sitting Friday, listening to the Water Minister roll out an emergency statement, effectively saying she has been busy having meetings.
On 31 July, two and a half months ago, the shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Louth and Horncastle (Victoria Atkins), wrote to the Environment Agency setting out six practical steps. Ministers have since said that they will adopt some of them, which is welcome, but it is highly surprising that in this statement from a Minister in the Department that represents food policy, there was not one mention of the impact the drought is having on our farmers and our growers. Why was that?
The key questions remain. The Government talk a big game about their new water Bill and taking back public control, yet the primary action announced today is instructing water companies to conduct daily monitoring. Does that mean they have not been doing that to date? If the national drought group has been meeting regularly since August, why are water companies only now being told to step up their drought planning? Why is the Minister willing to relax strict environmental regulations for water companies when they have failed to protect customer supplies through not undertaking significant investment in dealing with leakage and enhancing water storage? What does this say to the many households that are facing increased water bills?
The Minister highlights upgrades in investment and promises to build nine new major reservoirs, but she has also admitted that this is a decade-long journey. Our communities, our farmers and our businesses are facing severe challenges today. When exactly will the first reservoir be built, and will she release a timeframe for each? Some on-farm reservoirs are reporting being a fifth full or less heading into winter, yet farmers are still waiting for the reopened water management grant, and planning and licensing hurdles to building water storage remain far too high.
The Government announced a £65 million drought package, but what has happened to it? It was money already sitting unallocated in the farming budget. Most of it was poured into the sustainable farming incentive, and look what happened to that. Will the Minister update us on how she is making it easier for farmers to have on-farm reservoirs? The Opposition will work constructively with anyone serious about protecting our food and water security, but we will hold this Government to account when they fall short, and right now they are falling short—significantly short—of what farmers, rural communities and our households expect.
Emma Hardy
It is a shame that the Opposition spokesperson is not taking this as seriously as required. To respond briefly to his points about what this Government have done, there are many things I can do—unfortunately, I cannot make it rain, but what I can do is ensure that this Government are prepared, and that is exactly what we have been doing.
In February this year, DEFRA and Cobra ran a cross-Government drought exercise to test the current response arrangements, with lessons learned from the previous year. We have been planning for this since we came into government, because this Government actually believe that climate change is real. We are not a Government of climate change deniers. We are not a Government who wish to repeal the Climate Change Act 2008 and think that when it is sunny, we should just enjoy more barbecues.
This Government have been preparing for drought since I became Water Minister. In February, we ran the cross-Government exercise, and we have been working with water companies on emergency drought measures. Last winter, a year ago, regulators and water companies were already looking to take action because we know that this is the new normal when it comes to our weather. That is why we are preparing for it.
The shadow Minister asks what we are doing to support farmers, but it is this Government who are giving £15 million for on-farm reservoirs, it this Government who are making the planning system easier so that farmers can build reservoirs, and it is this Government who are looking into flexible abstraction so that farmers can fill the reservoirs that we are helping them build. Frankly, it was the previous Government who failed to prepare for any of that during their 14 years in office.
Olivia Blake (Sheffield Hallam) (Lab)
I thank the Minister for her statement. Despite what the shadow Minister said, this situation is unprecedented: the first time a severe drought has ever been declared in the UK. This is incredibly shocking for what has historically and famously been our wet island. Drought has just been declared in Yorkshire. Consumers in my constituency often raise the issue of leaks with me. How can we ensure that water companies address leaks before asking consumers to reduce their usage?
Emma Hardy
My hon. Friend makes an important point. That was another challenge that we faced when coming into office, but companies are now fixing more leaks than ever before. They are also increasing the number of engineers who can fix those leaks. During this review, £720 million is going into smart technology, including the use of metering.
One of the many reasons why metering is so important is that it helps customers to identify leaks; sometimes, they have not been aware of them. We are absolutely holding the companies to account, through the weekly national drought group meetings, to make sure that fixing leaks remains one of their priorities. It is one of the cheapest ways of ensuring that there is more water in the system.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.
Dr Al Pinkerton (Surrey Heath) (LD)
The Liberal Democrats are deeply concerned by the declaration of severe drought across the south-east and south-west. It is a stark warning. We are in the grip of a climate crisis, and our water system lacks the resilience to address the water insecurity that that crisis is substantially causing.
The Government and water companies must act now and at speed. Families, schools and businesses deserve to know that their taps will keep running and that the current situation will not become the new normal. The best way to save water is not to waste the water we have. Water companies must act to cut leakage, follow drought plans and invest in resilient infrastructure. Bill payers should not pay for decades of under-investment while nearly 3 billion litres of water escapes through leaking pipes every day.
Farmers and food production face enormous pressures. Farmers may already have lost hundreds of millions of pounds to drought this year. The Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit estimates losses of nearly £5 billion across three weather-hit years. As I know the Minister knows, food security is national security. But the family farm tax, DEFRA budget cuts and the mishandling of the sustainable farming incentive are right now putting agriculture in jeopardy. Will the Government change course and back the Liberal Democrat plan for an additional £1 billion for the farming budget?
In the long term, we need greater water storage, recycling, transfers and sustainable desalination alongside the fundamental reform of water companies failing to cope with the changing climate. Britain’s farms have enormous untapped potential to store water. Outdated planning rules and inadequate support are holding them back, and the Government’s £15 million reservoir fund does not even scratch the surface. Will the Minister today commit to a national “call to store” programme to identify on-farm storage capacity, remove planning barriers and back farmers, who want to be part of the solution?
Emma Hardy
I thank the hon. Gentleman, who is absolutely right to highlight the importance of farmers being able to store water on their land. We have been working closely with the NFU on that through the national drought group. But as I have said, as well as building the reservoirs, we need to focus on how to fill them up. DEFRA, the Environment Agency and the NFU are doing really interesting work on regional water resource groups and how we can strengthen water companies’ livestock resilience; supply outages have been a big concern. They are looking at one of the approaches being developed by South East Water: livestock registers, so that water companies are aware of where water is needed for livestock. They are also looking at flexible and dynamic abstraction. One thing the farmers said to me—I support them on this—is that the strict abstraction licences they have are based on dates rather than the amount of water in the environment. We are looking to trial a much more common-sense approach to abstraction in areas so that, if it suddenly chucks it down with rain, we would allow them to take more water
As well as dealing with the immediate situation with the extreme drought, my ambition is to look at how we ensure our reservoirs are as full as possible going into spring next year. I am very keen to work in partnership. There is always a balance between thinking about public health—which must come first—and the environment, and ensuring farmers have what they need. That is why that national drought group matters so much: it brings together all the important players and we try to work through that, but there is also that issue at the front of my mind.
Anna Dixon (Shipley) (Lab)
As the Minister acknowledged, Yorkshire is now in drought, and at least part of the blame must be with the water companies such as Yorkshire Water who have failed to prioritise any long-term investment over short-term financial interests. Does the Minister agree that we need to use the upcoming water Bill to strengthen and change the way our water companies are run, so that they are run in the interests of citizens and consumers instead of profit-making companies?
Emma Hardy
I agree with my hon. Friend that we absolutely need to be putting people first; the Prime Minister could not have been clearer when he talked about public control. She is also right to highlight the lack of resilience we have seen building up. Many water companies have areas that are like islands within them, where they are unable to move water around the network—they simply do not have the resilience required. That shows a complete failure of the regulatory system of the previous 14 years that allowed the situation to develop. One really important thing we are looking at in the water Bill is having resilience standards so that a company can move water from a part of its network where there is an excess to a part where there is not. You would think, Madam Deputy Speaker, that they would have developed that very basic thing by now.
Mims Davies (East Grinstead and Uckfield) (Con)
I had a delightful soggy drive in this morning, so hallelujah: it has rained a small amount in my constituency. However, as the Minister knows, we are now in severe drought because of the low rainfall, record-breaking temperatures this summer and the impact of El Niño. It has now been announced that we are likely to get standpipes. Constituents with water-dependent businesses are already very worried and at their wits’ end. The fixing of leaks has been too slow.
Under the Secretary of State’s guidance, there is the possibility of emergency pipes between Weir Wood and Ardingly reservoir, which is now under 20% full, but that is not a long-term answer. I know the Minister is doing a huge amount of work and having meetings on this, but can she help to arrange aligning infrastructure investment plans between Southern Water and South East Water to deliver effective change and real peace of mind for my constituents, for whom the situation is of deep worry?
Emma Hardy
I recognise how important this is to the hon. Lady and her constituents. I made the promise on the call—I will reiterate it—that I want to work closely with all Members of Parliament who are directly impacted. I reassure her there are no current plans for the use of standpipes. Our declaration of severe drought means a slight change in prioritisation from the Environment Agency, which has that direction that public health must come first. It is looking at increasing monitoring. As a responsible Government, we are preparing for every scenario, but there are no immediate plans for standpipes. Our immediate request to all Members of Parliament is: please go and share the Let’s Save Water campaign, which is a national campaign that has been running all summer—hopefully some hon. Members have seen it—with the little kids in the blue tracksuits. I see some nodding; that is great. We should try to share that as much as we possibly can.
The hon. Lady is right to highlight resilience, which is a challenge with South East Water. Again, it is one of those companies that has islands and is unable to move water around. She was right to point that out as a problem, and we want to work with the company on that. Let us deal with this emergency right now, but what are its longer-term plans to have greater resilience? Those have to involve looking at the ability to move water around. She is right that that must involve working closely with Southern Water as well.
Matthew Patrick (Wirral West) (Lab)
I thank the Minister for her statement and the actions she is taking. It seems clear that climate change is playing its role, but, in her assessment, what else is contributing to this problem and what long-term steps are the Government taking to ensure that we are building up resilience to deal with the consequences of climate change for all of us?
Emma Hardy
To reiterate what I said at the beginning, we have had exceptionally low rainfall—the lowest in over a century—but my hon. Friend is absolutely right that we cannot keep saying that we expect our country to be soggy. We have whiplash weather now—we go from flood to drought. We could even be in a situation where I update the House on drought and then have to update it on flooding. That is the situation we now have in our country, which we expect to be turbocharged by how El Niño plays out over the winter and into the next year.
That is why we need resilient standards and why the water Bill matters so much. It is why water companies need to focus on public good rather than other priorities they may have had in the past. We need whole-scale change so that we have a system that is fit for the future, rather than the one we have at the moment, which seems to be based on water companies hoping that it might rain, which is simply not good enough. We are determined to change that through our Bill.
Sir Christopher Chope (Christchurch) (Con)
The Minister is doing her best in very difficult circumstances. Does she agree that one of the problems is that over recent years the Government have given insufficient subsidy and support for adaptation measures and been obsessed with subsidising windmills and solar panels, which will not do anything to deal with the real problems on the ground that we are experiencing?
Emma Hardy
As a Member of Parliament for Hull, where the Siemens wind turbine factory employs lots of local people, I think wind turbines are a great idea. More seriously, in response to the hon. Gentleman’s question, adaptation is hugely important, which is why we need greater resilience in the system. We keep saying “the new normal”, but going between extremes of flood and drought is now the normal. Believe it or not, I am giving this statement on drought in Flood Action Week.
The hon. Member is right: we need to look at adaptation. That is why it is important to have conversations with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government about new home standards and water efficiency. This is a cross-Government issue, not just a DEFRA issue. That is why it was great to have a Minister from the Department for Transport, MHCLG and the Cabinet Office as well as a DEFRA Minister at the flood and drought taskforce this week. Resilience is an everyone problem and an every-part-of- Government issue.
Kevin Bonavia (Stevenage) (Lab)
I thank the Minister for her serious statement setting out the gravity of the situation this country is in. It is a bit rich for the Opposition to say that the Government are not doing enough in the face of what this country is up against when they had many years to build not just one, but several reservoirs, as our Government are now talking about. Will the Minister give the House the commitment that the Government will do all they can to make these major projects happen?
Emma Hardy
I can absolutely give that commitment. It is hugely important. It is, frankly, shocking that we have not built a new reservoir in years, developed any new sources of water or looked at desalination. It is an abject failure to prepare and develop the resilience this country needs. I am absolutely determined to change that. The basics of being able to move water more easily around the country and store it when it rains are the least the public expects. It highlights again that they were terribly failed by the previous Government.
Lincoln Jopp (Spelthorne) (Con)
I thank the Minister for her statement. Can I be helpful? I have half of London’s drinking water in my constituency. While some benefits of floating solar are well known—they are twice as efficient as land-based systems and have none of the opportunity costs of putting solar panels on agricultural land—one of the less well-known benefits is that it reduces evaporation by 70%. I did not notice the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero in the list of ministries in her taskforce. Will she work further across Government to encourage water companies to install floating solar? Some farmers are doing that where they have planning permission for reservoirs.
Emma Hardy
I thank the hon. Gentleman. [Interruption.] I have just seen a good nodding from the Minister for Energy, and he is absolutely right to say that putting floating solar across reservoirs helps with evaporation. I thank him for raising that point, and I am pleased that my colleague also heard it.
Dr Peter Prinsley (Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket) (Lab)
Bottled water businesses are worth billions of pounds, yet when I was a child nobody drank bottled water and I have often wondered why that is. Does the Minister agree that whatever the drought situation, tap water for drinking must remain the very highest priority?
Emma Hardy
I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend, and I have given the ministerial direction to prioritise public health and public water supply over anything else. Our drinking water is rated one of the highest in the world, so people can guzzle and enjoy it. It is super nice in Yorkshire, where it tastes that little bit better than in other parts of the country. Members should enjoy a nice glass when they get home.
Edward Morello (West Dorset) (LD)
2026 will be the hottest year on record, and in all likelihood it will also be the coolest year that we will experience going forward. This is climate change, this is now the norm, and it is clear that our water systems, infrastructure and water companies are failing us. South West Water lost 107 million litres a day last year, which is equivalent to more than 100 litres per customer every day. Since 2013 it has received £40 million a year from central Government, while more than £1.5 billion has been paid out to shareholders in dividends. What have customers and my constituents got? Higher bills and sewage. They are angry, I am angry; they are fed up, I am fed up. The water Bill is a huge opportunity finally to start fixing the problem. Will the Minister support the Liberal Democrat proposal for a new mutual ownership model, and will she please consider my proposal for a national rainwater management strategy?
Emma Hardy
I absolutely hear how angry and disappointed the hon. Gentleman is with the efforts and attainment of his water company. As I have said, water companies are putting more into leakage, but he is right to hold them to account and ensure that they deliver further and faster for his residents. I support him wholeheartedly in doing that. As the Prime Minister has said, this Government will be relentless in giving people and places what they were promised 10 years ago, which is ownership and control. As he said, people were sold the message of taking back control by the very people who gave away everything that was previously owned by the public. This Government are struggling to reverse the legacy of the 1980s, but we are determined to do that, and for our water Bill to right the wrongs that were delivered through Thatcher and the Conservative party.
Lizzi Collinge (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Lab)
Not many people know that the Westmorland part of my constituency includes part of the Yorkshire Dales national park, so to see our neighbours in Yorkshire going into drought, and a lot of the rest of the country in severe drought, is very worrying. I welcome the statement about protecting public water supplies. Does the Minister share my disappointment that we continue to see in this House arguments against tackling climate change, which is fundamentally the cause of the drought?
Emma Hardy
I could not agree more with my hon. Friend, and it is frankly astonishing when we are seeing the impact of climate change with our own eyes. It is there in front of us. We have had the driest summer in over a century, yet still some people think that climate change is not real. We are going into an El Niño year where there is a higher risk of flooding. We have already talked about the whiplash weather we are experiencing, and I find it unbelievable that people do not think that climate change is a real thing, or that we should be taking action on it. We absolutely need to because it is impacting every one of our constituents in every part of their daily lives. It would frankly be a dereliction of duty if we did not take it seriously, and I am pleased that—thank goodness!—we have a Government who are not a Government of climate deniers, unlike many of the Opposition parties.
Flood Action Week
Emma Hardy Excerpts(3 weeks, 2 days ago)
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The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
As we enter Flood Action Week 2026 (12 to 18 October 2026), I am updating the House on the steps this Government are taking to strengthen resilience to flooding and drought, improve public preparedness, and protect communities across England from the impacts of a changing climate.
This year an especially strong El Niño weather pattern is expected, bringing with it an increased likelihood of wetter and stormier conditions across the UK. Flood Action Week is an important moment to assess our resilience and ensure our communities, and those who work to support them, are prepared for the winter. Today I want to set out how we continue to strengthen that preparedness, improve public awareness, and increase resilience across the country.
Flood and Drought Resilience Taskforce
Flooding and drought are interconnected challenges that require a more integrated approach to water management. The winter of 2025-26 was the eighth wettest in England since records began in 1836. However, by August 2026, 71% of England had entered drought status. Currently, Wimbleball reservoir and Ardingly reservoir are still key areas of concern. This rapid transition between extremes underlines the need to strengthen resilience to both flood and drought risks.
To support this, I am announcing that the existing Flood Resilience Taskforce will be expanded and renamed the Flood And Drought Resilience Taskforce. Building on the success of the current taskforce in improving flood preparedness, the new body will bring together national, regional and local government, the Environment Agency, water companies, Ofwat, representatives of the farming sector and community groups to support a more integrated approach to managing the lifecycle of water in the environment.
A key priority of the new taskforce will be to champion the voice of communities by ensuring that the experiences of those affected by flooding and water shortages inform policy development and resilience planning through better engagement and communication.
The first meeting of the Flood and Drought Resilience Taskforce will take place tomorrow, 14 October 2026. The agenda will focus on assessing the nation’s preparedness for potential flooding this winter. Through the work of the taskforce, the nation is better prepared than last year, and its members have already improved their response. The first meeting of the new taskforce will discuss emerging learnings from the ongoing drought, and if improvements could be made to aid the nation’s resilience to both flooding and drought.
Flood information website
We have heard that people often struggle to know where to find clear, practical and trusted advice to inform them of the potential risk of flooding to their homes and businesses. As a response to this, during flood action week, the Environment Agency is launching a new Flood Action Online website. This will play a vital role in giving power to communities by helping people understand their flood risk.
Flood Action Online will serve as a one-stop shop. The website will connect people to existing services and flood information on www.gov.uk and other trusted Government services and advice. It will help them to navigate information in a more accessible, user-friendly way.
The website will promote practical actions that increase preparedness and resilience for people to protect their homes and businesses. Equally, it will encourage measures that can reduce the impacts of flooding on people, places and communities. I strongly encourage members of this House to promote this new resource to their constituents.
Flood Re and flood performance certificates
To be resilient, individuals and businesses must understand and reduce their own flood risks. We are working with Flood Re and insurers on the development of voluntary flood performance certificates, one of the recommendations of the FloodReady review that we continue to implement. These certificates will give people the option of better understanding their flood risk and the steps that they can take to make their properties more resilient.
Flood Re is launching the BeFloodReady platform, the property flood resilience hub, which will become the UK’s authoritative hub for property flood resilience information, guidance and support. It is designed to serve householders, businesses, academics, and policymakers. Recognising that flood risk is a long-term issue, this site will drive innovation and share best practice far into the future.
Three-year flood and coastal erosion investment targets
Earlier this year, I announced the Government’s new 10-year flood and coastal erosion investment programme, backed by record levels of funding. I can now set out the three-year targets for what this investment will achieve. Between April 2026 and March 2029, the Government will invest £4.2 billion in flood resilience, maintaining existing assets while delivering new flood schemes across every region of England.
Through this investment, we expect to:
better protect 200,000 properties;
increase the proportion of flood risk management assets at or above their required condition to 93.5%;
generate more than £27 billion of avoided economic damage, delivering almost £7 of benefit for every £1 invested;
create or enhance 2,500 hectares of habitat and improve 750 kilometres of river.
Flooding remains one of the most significant climate risks facing the country. Through record investment, stronger co-ordination, and a more joined-up approach to water resilience, the Government are taking practical action to protect people, property and infrastructure across England. Equally, through better, more accessible public information, we are empowering communities to mitigate their flood risk and protect their homes and businesses.
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Digital Waste Tracking: Mandatory Report Receipt of Waste Service
Emma Hardy Excerpts(3 weeks, 3 days ago)
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The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
Today I am pleased to update the House of continued progress with the implementation of digital waste tracking. On 1 October 2026 the report receipt of waste service, which represents the first phase of the Government’s move from paper-based waste record keeping to a modern digital system, became mandatory in England and Wales —it will become mandatory in Scotland and Northern Ireland on 1 January 2027. Approximately 12,000 sites are expected to be within the scope of this first phase.
The Prime Minister has been clear that this Government will not stand by and allow our communities to be blighted by waste crime. But the waste systems we have inherited have been exploited by criminals and are not fit for purpose. The current paper-based approach to tracking waste creates significant information gaps, making it more difficult for regulators to identify poor practice and tackle waste crime effectively. Waste crime is estimated to cost the UK economy around £1 billion each year, while also damaging the environment, undermining legitimate businesses and creating risks to public health. Digital waste tracking has been developed to address these challenges by improving the quality, timeliness and accessibility of waste data across the United Kingdom.
Digital waste tracking is a UK-wide service being developed jointly by the UK Government and the Governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The service will replace paper-based recording of waste movements with digital records, providing a more transparent and efficient system for businesses, regulators and Government. The first phase focuses on waste received at permitted and licensed waste receiving sites, including facilities such as transfer stations, paper mills, incinerators and composting facilities.
The report receipt of waste service is now live and mandatory for permitted waste receiving sites to use. It enables operators of in-scope waste receiving sites to submit information digitally. Records must be submitted within two working days, beginning the day after waste is received. This will provide more timely data, helping regulators identify suspicious patterns earlier and take prompt, targeted enforcement action where criminal activity is suspected.
The service delivers significant benefits for Government, regulators, businesses and the public. By providing better-quality and more timely waste data, it will support regulators in identifying and responding to suspected waste crime and illegal waste activity. It will improve transparency throughout the waste management system and help create a more comprehensive picture of waste movements. In doing so, it will support environmental protection, public health and the transition towards a more circular economy.
For legitimate businesses, digital waste tracking will reduce reliance on paper records and support more efficient reporting processes as it directly integrates with commercially available software that businesses can use. Over time, it will provide greater consistency in the way waste information is captured and shared, helping businesses meet their regulatory obligations through modern digital systems and deliver a safe, effective service for the British people.
To support successful implementation, the report receipt of waste service has been available to test voluntarily since April this year. Affected organisations have been encouraged to register for the service, confirm their reporting route, test their systems and complete operational readiness activities ahead of the relevant mandatory date. Software providers, trade associations and regulators have also been working closely with Government to support awareness and preparedness across the sector.
This is the first stage of a wider transformation programme, and we will build on it. Digital waste tracking will be expanded in future phases to cover more of the waste movement chain, including waste carriers, brokers, dealers and other operators. We will continue working with regulators, businesses, software providers and the devolved Governments to prepare the sector for those changes, support compliance and make sure the service is introduced in a stable, practical and user-focused way.
This Government are committed to cracking down on waste crime, supporting compliant waste businesses and protecting our environment. Digital waste tracking is a major step towards a modern, transparent and more effective waste regulation system but this is just the start of the action this Government will take to stamp the scourge of waste crime out of our communities.
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Water Sector: Public Ownership
Emma Hardy Excerpts(1 month, 3 weeks ago)
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The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Jeremy. I offer my sympathy to the Prime Minister on the loss of his father. Losing a parent hurts, whatever age you are. I thank my hon. Friends and other hon. Members for being so kind when I lost my own dad earlier in the year. Thanks, everybody.
I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for Colne Valley (Paul Davies) for securing this important debate. He cares deeply about this issue, as do so many members of the public—many more, I imagine, than the 208,000 people who signed the petition.
I pay tribute to all the citizen scientists, environmental groups, campaigners and Members of Parliament from across the House. I particularly mention Julie and Reuben; I hope I am not giving too much away when I say to Julie how deeply moved both I and the previous Secretary of State—my right hon. Friend the Member for Wycombe (Emma Reynolds)—were after we met her, and how touched and privileged we felt to be presented with one of Heather’s shells as a reminder of the need to campaign on this. I promised her that we would focus much more on public health. We have generally lost that focus, and one of the key things in all the reforms we are trying to make is putting public health back at the heart of water. That is why we created the water system to begin with—for public health—and it should be focusing on that right now.
All the failures that hon. Members mentioned—all the people who have become sick and the impact on places that people love—are outrageous. They talked about the places where they used to paddle but cannot now, and places they used to visit. It is horrific that we have ended up in this situation.
I have always wanted to introduce a water Bill that meets the political moment and the public appetite for change. I am delighted that it feels that we are closer to that. The change in Prime Minister has opened up options that were previously not available; as I will mention, more things are suddenly on the table. I apologise in advance for being an irritating politician—we can quote that one—who is not going to give specific answers, but that is honestly because we are working through things right now. We are working through things across Government, and are looking to introduce a Bill that meets that appetite for change.
Hon. Members have had many key messages. As the shadow spokesman, the hon. Member for Epping Forest (Dr Hudson), mentioned, I would normally respond to everyone. I apologise that I am not going to do that, because too many spoke. However, I hope hon. Members recognise that I have been a very open Member of Parliament. We received a parliamentary question from an Opposition Member asking how many meetings Ministers have had with Back-Bench MPs. I have done 141.
Barry Gardiner
First, I reassure my hon. Friend that she is not an irritating Minister at all; I think she is generally held to be a very good Minister. Can I tempt her to enlarge slightly on what she said? When we talk about an SAR, people say, “Let’s start with Thames Water—it is the obvious one to start with.” Might the reason for the Minister’s hesitation to elaborate be that the Government are now looking much more holistically at what could be done with the whole water sector?
Emma Hardy
We are looking at all of the sector and what can be done right across it. The Prime Minister has been absolutely clear, in all the comments he has made, that, in his words, the current water sector is “a leaking monument” to a system that prioritises private over public. He has used similar words on a number of occasions.
I completely understand why people are asking fundamental questions about ownership. For too long, pollution, poor performance and financial instability in the water industry have left customers and communities to pay the price. Infrastructure is crumbling, as we see with water outages. Lots of hon. Members mentioned national security, water and resilience. How can we meet the changing climate when we have a system that is so ineffective? I want to move towards a better system, in which we are thinking about the management of water in a catchment—about water, flooding, wetlands and nature, and how we can do all that together.
To do that, we need significant reform to give people and places greater control and to make the industry work for them again. Believe it or not—I know that nobody here would question it—there are some who question whether climate change is real. It is real, everyone. Just remember what it was like in summer. Our water industry must be fit for climate change of the future, delivering clean waterways, reliable services and fair and predictable bills.
Whatever the ownership model, we face a challenge around ageing infrastructure. We need major investment. The provision of basic services and the prevention of sewage spills is a fundamental requirement of the sector. Some 30 years of privatisation has not left the system in a good state, and that is probably an understatement. I want to create a system that protects customers, improves the environment and secures reliable water services for the future.
There is no single easy fix, but the Prime Minister has been very clear that the failures of the past cannot continue. We will look at all possible solutions for the water industry and bring forward reforms to make the sector work for people and places again. As the Prime Minister has said, later in the year our 10-year plan for Britain will set out plans for stronger public control over essentials such as water.
I will not pretend that there is one simple answer to the problems facing the sector, but what is not in question is the need for significant reform. That means tougher regulation, which we have started to see through the increased inspections by the Environment Agency, the court cases coming through and the fines it is starting to issue. We have that tougher regulation, but we still need greater enforcement, greater financial resilience and absolutely a stronger voice for customers and communities. Many hon. Members talked about democratic voice, which I agree is missing from the water sector. Yesterday, my hon. Friend the Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell) and I had a quick conversation about how we need to bring people’s voices and that accountability back into place. I know that the Prime Minister is completely committed to looking at devolution and at how organisations can be responsive and answerable to place.
Bathing water sites are prioritised for upgrades. The hon. Member for Glastonbury and Somerton (Sarah Dyke) is no longer in her place, but I know that she and I share a love of pre-pipe solutions, which is looking at nature, wetlands and how we can create spaces for water to go to prevent it from entering the system. On looking at assets, we have introduced MOT tests, which has uncovered more problems. When people first go in to inspect, they will identify different problems, and we are seeing that.
I want to pick up on a point made by one hon. Member—I apologise; I did not write down their name—about the trade unions and the workers. We can never forget that the workers on the frontline are not responsible for the failures of the water companies. I have absolute respect for them. I meet with the trade unions on a regular basis, and one thing they mention is the abuse that workers get when they are out working. They are not responsible—in fact, I would say that the workers out there on the frontline are the ones holding these companies together. I pay wholehearted tribute to the trade unionists and workers in all those water companies, who are doing a great job in incredibly difficult situations.
I completely agree that the system is not fair at the moment. We need to look at rain water management. England’s drinking water is world-leading. There are many things where we can say there is failure, but our drinking water quality is incredibly high. On referendums, my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton Itchen (Darren Paffey) mentioned that he was scarred by a previous referendum, the result of which I still feel deeply myself. But I think we know what the public think about this sector.
The Prime Minister has been clear that the Government’s priorities must be the public’s priorities. People want more ownership and control over the things that matter most to them. Public trust in the sector has been damaged by pollution, financial difficulties at some companies and a failure to invest sufficiently in infrastructure. Channel 4’s “Dirty Business” further highlighted the public concern about sewage pollution, shining a light on issues that matter to communities.
Public interest should be at the heart of how our critical services operate. For decades, the essential services that underpin daily life, including water, have suffered from over-privatisation, leading to high costs to the public. The Government are clear that the public have a right to expect those services to be affordable and accountable. We have established a public control taskforce that will rewire the state, examining how public control across sectors, including water, can be utilised to return them to public service and bring down costs for families. That ambition is reflected in the reforms we are already taking forward: strengthening accountability, improving performance, giving customers and communities a stronger voice, and ensuring that the water sector works in the public interest. We know that bold action is needed, and that is why we are fundamentally reforming the water sector.
I conclude by thanking the campaigners, the 208,000 people and everyone involved in working together on this issue. I hope we can all unite and push forward together to build the water system that we need for our communities, for our environment and for our public health.
Water Management
Emma Hardy Excerpts(1 month, 3 weeks ago)
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The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
I genuinely thank the hon. Member for Taunton and Wellington (Gideon Amos) for securing the debate. I really enjoyed listening to his speech. There was so much agreement from the Government side of the House on pretty much everything he said. He described what I would refer to as “pre-pipe”, which I am really interested in. It is about, exactly as he described, looking at how we stop rainwater ending up in our sewerage system and often contributing to pollution incidents—the system becomes overwhelmed —when, as it is rainwater, it could be elsewhere.
The hon. Gentleman touches on one of my favourite things to talk about: nature-based solutions—how we can use nature more, create soakaway areas and create sustainable urban drainage. That is absolutely correct. I am passionate about thinking about how we manage water. We often talk about how to solve problems around pollution, but if we better manage rainwater that falls from the sky, we can help to deal with pollution, as well as many other things. Reservoirs are hugely important, as my hon. Friend the Member for Bracknell (Peter Swallow) pointed out, and we should absolutely be using them, but they are part of the wider system—collecting the rainfall and putting it where we want it, rather than it ending up where we do not.
It is obviously for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to talk about building standards, but I can tell the hon. Member for Taunton and Wellington, because I asked MHCLG ahead of this debate, that it is reviewing water efficiency standards in the building regulations for new homes, and considering how to enable water reuse systems, including rainwater and grey-water systems, where those are safe, practical and cost effective.
I have mentioned this issue a few times, and I share the hon. Gentleman’s concern—“astonishment” may be going a bit too far—that we use drinking water to flush our toilets. To give the other side of the argument, which I have had played back to me, the rules mean that the water supplied to domestic properties has to be drinking water quality. I hope that I am not telling the House things I should not, but we are exploring how we can guarantee that we do not mix up the water pipes that go into homes and therefore cause problems that way. This always has to be safety first. That is why the only water that can enter a property—unless a private individual has set up their own system—has to be drinking water quality.
Julia Buckley (Shrewsbury) (Lab)
Does the Minister agree that much progress has been made in regard to rainwater harvesting, not just by MHCLG but by the Minister’s Department—not least the landmark report, published this March, by the Drinking Water Inspectorate? The report exactly explored a potential governance framework that sets out standards for non-potable water in domestic settings, and talks about accreditation and standards, to ensure that these systems, when we are ready to bring them in, are safe and will be properly maintained.
Emma Hardy
I thank my hon. Friend; I was trying remember what the report was, so I very much appreciate the intervention. She is absolutely right. We have some of the best drinking water in the whole world; we have incredibly high standards for the health of our drinking water. The report by the Drinking Water Inspectorate looks at how we can do this in a safe way, and I am keen to explore that. We are going to be short of drinking water if we continue at this scale in the future. Thinking about where we are using it, rather than using it to flush our toilets, feels like a way forward. There is a huge amount of cross-party thinking on how we can do that. This comes back to the topic of how we manage water. How do we think about water? Where is it falling?
James Naish (Rushcliffe) (Lab)
The Minister is obviously aware of the work of the Labour rural research group. One thing we have been talking about is whether environmental land management schemes need longer-term certainty. Farmers are trying to invest in proper water management, as she is describing, but they often need more than three years to do so. Does she agree that her Department may need to look at how we can arrange for ELM schemes to be longer term, specifically when it comes to water?
Emma Hardy
I am hesitant to agree to something that is not in my brief, but I will certainly mention that to the Farming Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth South (Stephen Morgan).
The hon. Member for Taunton and Wellington is right that when we think about water management, we often talk about reservoirs; those are very much needed, and do matter, but so does managing water where it falls—thinking about roofs, streets, gardens, farms and developments. That is why we want a more practical, prevention-focused approach to water management that captures more water, wastes less of it and plans developments in a way that looks at local catchments.
Jonathan Davies (Mid Derbyshire) (Lab)
One thing that will benefit farmers in my constituency is the £50 million through the sustainable farming incentive to allow farms to build more water storage on their land. That is going to be of huge benefit, because their food stocks are down going into winter after the hot summer. We also have an issue with flooding. Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act has not been enacted, meaning that every development has a right to be connected to the drainage system, which increases the amount of flooding. If the Minister could take that forward with colleagues at MHCLG, I would be very grateful indeed.
Emma Hardy
On the point about farm reservoirs, my hon. Friend is correct. Today I held a meeting of the national drought group, and we had a focus on agriculture and the impact that drought has had on farmers. We are talking now about potential rain, El Niño and flooding, but drought is still here in this country. One of the conversations we had was, how can we support farmers to hold more of the water that comes down from the sky? We are focusing a lot on funding farm reservoirs, but we also need to think about filling farm reservoirs. How can farmers get them full for the summer, which we need, given our changing climate, with more rain in winter and drier summers?
I love SUDS—I get very geekily excited about sustainable drainage systems. I know I am shocking you, Madam Deputy Speaker, but I will try to convince you that they can be really nice, and they can be spaces for nature as well. I am not winning, am I?
Peter Swallow
I completely agree with the Minister. There are many SUDS in Bracknell Forest that have been delivered as part of alternative natural green spaces, and they create lovely nature corridors in our community. I just wanted to put that on the record.
Emma Hardy
This is like geeks united—we love our SUDS! They are brilliant.
The hon. Member for Taunton and Wellington is right: the point about the maintenance of SUDS has been raised a few times. It is okay to build them—I actually think most are built and designed in a very effective way—but there is also the question of how we ensure they are maintained and who is responsible for that.
Gideon Amos
I just want to make an observation. When I trained as an architect, I had to follow a whole series of regulations on drains about what the diameters are, what the gradients are—everything has to be followed. For SUDS, there are no such regulations. One is regulated; the other is all down to policy. As many Members have said, we need proper regulation for SUDS, because things will go wrong if we do not get schedule 3 or similar legislation on to the statute book.
Emma Hardy
I thank the hon. Gentleman for the expertise he brings to this House from his previous occupation. That is one of the things we are trying to work through with industry and MHCLG. We all agree that SUDS are a really good thing. Where they may not be as effective is the maintenance issue: who is responsible for maintaining them, and who pays for it? That is the kind of thing we are thinking about.
This goes back to the point I made earlier. When it comes to planning, are we thinking about the management of water in an area? With our changing climate going from drought to flood, are we thinking about where we want the water? It is a slightly different, nuanced conversation to say, “When it floods, where do we want the water to go? When there is a drought, where are we going to get the water from?” That means thinking about it more holistically in a way that we have not done previously, when we thought about each point in isolation.
Richard Foord (Honiton and Sidmouth) (LD)
In January last year, Storm Chandra caused devastation in East Devon, and there was significant flooding in Ottery St Mary. Does the Minister think that, as well as attenuation ponds and SUDS, people should be encouraged to store water in their own gardens using such things as water butts?
Emma Hardy
Absolutely; the more we can all do collectively, the better. We are coming up to Flood Action Week, beginning on 12 October, when I will be calling on every single Member in this House to do what they can to get the message out to their constituents about being prepared and how we can all collectively play our part in what could be quite a challenging winter.
The national planning policy framework requires all new developments to incorporate SUDS designed and maintained in accordance with national standards. There are some new national standards, and the hierarchy within those standards prioritises collecting rainwater for non-potable uses. We are also committed to better joined-up water planning, with decisions on housing, drainage, water supply and waste water taken together, so that growth is supported in the right places and communities are better protected.
In conclusion, I have really enjoyed this debate and talking about some of my favourite things: natural flood management, SUDS, rainwater and water management in a catchment—it has ticked all my favourite boxes. Managing rainwater where it falls is practical, local and important. It can help households to use less mains water, reduce pressure on sewerage, improve drainage, support flood resilience and make new developments more sustainable. That is why this Government continue to support better management of rainwater. Our water system faces significant challenges, but this Government are taking action, cleaning up rivers, tackling pollution at source, holding water companies to account, improving resilience to flood and droughts, and securing investment needed for the future. Through reform, investment and stronger regulation, we are rebuilding public trust and creating a water system that works for people, the environment and our economy.
Question put and agreed to.
Local Authorities: Aluminium Recycling
Emma Hardy Excerpts(2 months ago)
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The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. I welcome all hon. Members back to Westminster Hall; it is good to start with a debate where there is much agreement.
I thank the hon. Member for Wells and Mendip Hills (Tessa Munt) for securing the debate, and I would like to take a moment to pay tribute to the previous Minister for Nature at the Department, my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry East (Mary Creagh). She did so much to progress the reforms I will go on to mention, including the deposit return scheme, which is of clear relevance to today’s debate—it will play a vital role in increasing the capture of drinks containers, improve the quality of material collected for recycling, and reduce litter. I am a huge supporter of the deposit return scheme, and I will continue that work and her legacy.
I recognise the long-standing interest of the hon. Member for Wells and Mendip Hills in this issue. I was reading about how she has been collecting aluminium cans herself and using that for local charity, which is a brilliant idea and such a nice way to reduce litter in the local area and raise money for charity. We should think about the principle of such materials being viewed as valuable resources; I wholeheartedly agree with that.
I also agree with the comments the hon. Lady made about fraud in the system. She will be aware that, only a couple of weeks ago, the Prime Minister made a big announcement about cracking down more on waste crime. I went to visit Kidlington, which looks a heck of a lot better than it did previously and is nicely cleared up. The hon. Lady is therefore right to talk about fraud and how we can increase transparency in the system by looking at registration. There was a consultation on reforming the packaging waste recycling note system earlier in the year, which is looking at changes to address the issues she mentions.
It seems to me that there are two issues when it comes to recycling. One is how we collect more of the things we should recycle, rather than putting them into landfill. The other, which I am particularly passionate about, is how we recycle more of those things here in the United Kingdom. We still have a throwaway culture in the UK, and we throw away so much stuff that can be reused and recycled. As has been highlighted, we should think about the huge value of what we put into our bins and send to our councils. The hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells (Mike Martin) mentioned the problems he has with his council not recognising the value of what it is throwing away. There are many reforms that we can make in government, but there is not much we can do about incompetence.
Our recycling rate has stalled between 42% and 44% for years, apart from in Hull city council, where we recycle 51% of everything we collect. Considering the area, the demographic and the challenges we have—I could spend the whole debate talking about flats and recycling, but I will not—that is hugely important. I completely agree with the comments from hon. Members that every tonne of aluminium we do not recycle needs to be dug out of the ground somewhere and sent across the world somehow. It makes complete and utter sense to recycle more of what we have here in the UK. It is good not only for the environment but for industry; it is good for the Prime Minister’s ambition to reindustrialise our country, create jobs in different areas, bring back manufacturing and expand our manufacturing base. What is not to love about doing all those things? It is why I am quite passionate about this and so delighted to have it within my brief.
The hon. Member for Wells and Mendip Hills asked about councils losing out through aluminium recycling. As she knows from all her in-depth research, they have different contracts and agreements. I can raise her point directly with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Minister to see what more can be done on transparency. From DEFRA’s point of view, we publish a monthly market overview so that councils can see what the market price of aluminium is, which is information that DEFRA has. I will have to speak to the MHCLG Minister about how they can encourage councils to share their information. From my point of view, they would surely want to do so to ensure that a neighbouring council is not getting a better deal.
Tessa Munt
Half the problem is that councils often think they are doing the right thing, and they have put something in their contract that says everything needs to be recycled in the UK. It goes back to my point of how to define recycling. There are problems all the way along the chain. If a waste management company can say, “Yes, we have recycled everything,” because it has put everything into a facility, separated it and sorted it, and the council is happy to accept that, then something has to change.
Emma Hardy
Absolutely. We need to keep building on the reforms we have introduced and make things simpler and more transparent for everyone. I completely take the point that local people need faith. If someone is living near an aluminium recycling factory, they will be really incentivised to recycle all their aluminium. I will raise the point with the MHCLG Minister about how we can encourage councils to be more transparent.
Before I move on to the next point, I want to address the points from the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), who raises a serious issue. It is great that recycling rates in his area are at 50%, which is really impressive, but I recognise the point he makes about how easily aluminium can be recycled and, if that material is collected, how quickly it can be recycled. DEFRA officials will meet and work with officials in Northern Ireland on the implementation of the deposit return scheme and see how we can support them to be as successful, if not more successful, than here on the mainland.
Lots of Members raised concerns about exports and what we are doing about them. Legitimate exports of waste for recovery are permitted when they comply with domestic and international controls. Reprocessors and exporters must be accredited by the relevant regulator. Hon. Members have heard me mention the packaging waste recovery note reforms as well. Where the UK cannot recycle materials economically, exports help those materials to be recycled rather than sent to landfill or incineration, which is the worst of all worlds. The new fit and proper person test for operators, together with monthly reporting requirements, further strengthens oversight of that part of the market. However, I will say again that my personal feeling is that I would love to see more of it recycled here in the UK.
Tessa Munt
As I explained, one place I went to was Warrington. It is clear that next year that plant, Novelis, will be able to take all our cans, for example—we do not need to think about the other bits of aluminium that there are around the place. That is a Government-funded expansion, and it is brilliant. Can we not do something that stops this stuff going abroad on the basis that it is a critical mineral?
Emma Hardy
Absolutely. Our aim is for 65% of municipal waste to be recycled, and 67% of aluminium packaging. The hon. Lady mentions Novelis, which is the leading aluminium producer and recycler, and it has committed, as I think she was alluding to, £66.5 million to upgrading its aluminium recycling plant. One of the things we are hearing is that the changes we are making through the deposit return scheme—the higher-quality collection of aluminium because of the way the scheme works—mean that recyclers are looking to expand and do a lot more, which is fantastic because that is creating highly skilled jobs in those areas.
I have already mentioned some of the other reforms: extended producer responsibility, simpler recycling and the deposit return scheme. Industry estimates that those three different reforms will underpin £10 billion of investment in recycling, with new sorting and processing facilities, and will create 25,000 jobs. Those are jobs here in the UK—UK jobs for people in this area—creating and supporting growth in every postcode, which is exactly what the Prime Minister is talking about. That is really quite exciting, and it is because of those three reforms introduced by this Government.
Aluminium demonstrates exactly why the transition to a circular economy is not some academic theory, but something that matters to us all. Capturing that valuable resource gives us the opportunity to reduce waste, lower emissions and strengthen industrial supply chains. That is good for local authorities, manufacturers, economic growth and the reindustrialisation of this country. Bringing together stakeholders from the steel, aluminium and critical minerals sectors, the Government have created, under my predecessors, the metals circularity group to look at how we can create high-quality scrap, because that matters a lot as well.
I thank the hon. Member for Wells and Mendip Hills. It is great to kick the year off with something that we all agree on and that we are all pushing in the same direction on: how can we recycle more here in the UK? Our existing circular industry already delivers tens of billions of pounds in economic value and hundreds of thousands of jobs, but I know there is more potential that we can unlock. If we get it right, we can build something durable: a circular economy that turns yesterday’s rubbish into tomorrow’s raw material and delivers growth, resilience and jobs in every corner of this country—in fact, “growth in every postcode”, to borrow a phrase from the new Prime Minister. That is the outcome I am focusing on delivering for every council and corner of this country.