Flooding
Emma Hardy Excerpts(1 day, 7 hours ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
Happy new year to everybody in the House. I would like to update the House on the flooding situation in England, and I start by extending my heartfelt sympathy to all the people and businesses affected. Having your home or place of work flooded at any time is a horrendous experience, but it is particularly dreadful at a time of hope and celebration for individuals and communities, and I hope that those affected will be able to rebuild in the days ahead.
The latest set of flood events come in what has already been a challenging autumn and winter storm season. A combination of heavy rain, snow and high winds has affected England since 30 December, with the worst rain arriving on 1 January. Many new year’s eve celebrations were cancelled, and people in the north-west and central England woke up in the new year to find rivers at record levels, and roads, car parks, businesses and, unfortunately, dozens of homes flooded. Last night saw further heavy rain and flooding, affecting transport infrastructure and other services. The Environment Agency’s areas of most concern today are focused in the midlands, Warwickshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. In Leicestershire, the fire and rescue service has declared a major incident.
There remains extensive floodwater in rivers and other bodies of water, and a lot of the ground is saturated. The news and social media have shown the flooding of fields and our transport infrastructure, and the impact that water has on our communities. As hon. and right hon. Members will appreciate, this is an ongoing and dynamic situation, but I wanted to come here and provide the latest and most detailed updates possible on what is happening and how we are responding.
On new year’s eve, the Met Office issued rainfall warnings across most of England, including an amber rain warning for large areas of the north-west, and 164 flood warnings and 154 flood alerts were issued by the Environment Agency between new year’s eve and new year’s day. During that period, rain fell across large parts of England; the worst impacted areas were in the north-west, including Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and parts of Yorkshire. The highest-ever levels on the River Mersey were recorded. Environment Agency teams operated flood basins at Catterall, Garstang and Croston in Lancashire, and at Lilford, Sale and Didsbury in Greater Manchester.
Cheshire was a specific area of concern. A major incident was declared, with over 100 families in the Warrington area needing evacuation. A large section of the Bridgewater canal’s embankment collapsed, with water draining on to farmland and inundating a waste water treatment works owned by United Utilities. The owner of the canal, Peel Holdings, took emergency action to stop the flow of water and, although the treatment works were inaccessible for a time, United Utilities has assured us that the plant is back up and running. A number of evacuations were needed, even where properties were not flooded, including for 400 residents of the Britannia hotel in Didsbury.
Although some of the heavy rain had passed by 2 January, subsequent cold weather impacted much of the same areas, hampering recovery efforts and adding further misery for those whose homes had flooded. Environment Agency staff continued their work across the country and brought in mutual aid from unaffected areas to help efforts in the worst-hit areas. They were also operating defences, supporting emergency response partners in managing live incidents, and continuing to issue flood warnings to warn and advise communities at risk.
Late yesterday evening there was further heavy rainfall across parts of England, leading to a combination of river and surface water flooding. The Environment Agency is continuing to respond in affected areas, including Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Birmingham, Nuneaton, Loughborough and the Rivers Trent, Avon and Idle in the midlands. The Environment Agency reports that at least 350 properties have flooded and more than 21,000 properties have been protected since new year’s eve. Over the next 24 to 36 hours, as water moves to lower reaches and slower-responding catchments, there is likely to be some localised flooding across multiple smaller areas.
Climate change will inevitably lead to more severe weather of the kind we have seen this weekend, but I reassure the House that flooding is a personal priority for me and a top-five priority for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. This Government inherited flood defences in the worst condition on record, following years of under-investment. Due to the impacts of inflation, an ageing asset base and the previous Government making no additional funding available to repair storm damage, flood defence integrity is at its lowest level since 2009-10, with approximately 60,000 properties less well protected than if flood defences were at optimal condition. That is why we are investing £2.4 billion over the next two years to build and maintain flood defences.
We have set up a new flood resilience taskforce to ensure better co-ordination between central Government and frontline agencies on the ground and throughout the country. The taskforce brings together organisations including the Association of Drainage Authorities, the National Farmers Union, local resilience forums and emergency responders. The taskforce is key to strengthening resilience in the face of floods, and it met for the first time in September and will meet later this month. We have also provided £60 million to help farmers affected by the unprecedented flooding last winter, and an additional £50 million will be distributed to internal drainage boards to manage water levels to protect the environment and agriculture.
To make the most of our flood funding, we will refresh our approach to funding flood defences, including through a review of the existing flood funding formula to ensure that the challenges facing businesses and rural and coastal communities are taken into account in the delivery of flood protection. We will consult on this new approach in the new year, and I will inform all Members when the consultation goes live. We aim to bring in the new approach from April 2026.
The Environment Agency’s community and field teams are out today to assess and report on the impacts of the last 24 hours. I am sure the whole House will join me in thanking the emergency services, the local authorities, the Environment Agency and the volunteers for their work in keeping communities, properties and businesses safe.
I also recognise the work done by many local MPs—including Jo Platt, the MP for Leigh and Atherton—and their constituents. Residents of Lilford, in Leigh, have been impacted by flooding twice in recent years, which is proof that resilience measures and investment need to be reassessed constantly, and we as a Government are committed to supporting residents to do that. I know that many more MPs wanted to be here but, because of the flooding, are out supporting their constituents. I thank them all, and I specifically mention James Naish in Rushcliffe, who is out supporting constituents right now.
I held a call on Friday to update MPs, and I am grateful that the shadow Minister was able to join. I will continue to communicate with Members as they raise issues. Flooding is such an important issue, and I will work tirelessly to make our communities more resilient. I commend this statement to the House.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
I remind Members that it is protocol to reference Members of Parliament by their constituency, not by their name. I call the shadow Minister.
Dr Neil Hudson (Epping Forest) (Con)
I thank the Minister for advance sight of her statement. I put on the record my gratitude to the Minister and her whole team for hosting a constructive and helpful cross-party meeting on Friday, together with officials from DEFRA, the Environment Agency, the Met Office and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
On behalf of His Majesty’s Opposition, I pay tribute to the emergency services, local authorities and the Environment Agency for their efforts, over the challenging festive period and the ongoing start of the working year, to help people quickly, often in dangerous circumstances. I thank members of the public, volunteer groups and our amazing farmers, who have once again stepped in to help their neighbours and local communities in difficult times.
The current flooding, snow and rain have had, and continue to have, hugely detrimental impacts across the United Kingdom. Today, roads are closed, many schools have been unable to reopen on what should have been the first day of term, rail services have been suspended, and airports have experienced extreme delays. Furthermore, as the Minister said, as a result of the extreme weather Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service has declared a major incident across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Our thoughts are with all those whose homes and businesses have been damaged, and with all those who continue to be affected.
Many of those people will be distressed, angry and completely exhausted as they begin the new year with the process of restoring and rebuilding their homes and businesses. I sound a bit like a broken record, but I reiterate that we must not underestimate the mental health impacts of flooding on communities, in respect of both the anxiety of being flooded and the trauma when flooding hits. It is essential that practical support is provided as quickly as possible and remains in place after the waters have subsided and the blue lights have departed. Will the Minister update us on the action the Government are taking to get schools open as soon as possible? What steps are her Department taking to ensure that insurance claims can be processed as quickly as possible, so that those affected can return to their homes as soon as they can?
In addition, what steps are the Government taking to review and potentially expand the vital Flood Re scheme, so that insurance cover is expanded in terms of the age of building eligibility and to include businesses? We discussed that issue at the cross-party meeting on Friday. While in government, the Conservatives ringfenced £100 million to help communities threatened by repeated flooding. Will the Minister commit to that funding, and will those affected by flooding again, in the latest period of bad weather, be eligible to apply?
Furthermore, will the Minister provide assurances that discretionary funding, such as the flood recovery framework or the Bellwin scheme, will be implemented to alleviate the effects of flooding? Even if the thresholds for the numbers of properties affected are sometimes not met, will the Minister and her colleagues across Government commit to a compassionate, pragmatic and case-by-case approach to awarding that vital discretionary funding?
Additionally, the previous Conservative Government established the farming recovery fund to support farmers recovering from uninsurable damage. Will the Minister confirm whether the Government will renew that Conservative initiative and provide new funding for this winter’s storms?
Finally, the Secretary of State has set up a flood resilience taskforce to improve flood preparedness that has met only once. What work did the taskforce do ahead of the latest bad weather? Should it not meet more regularly—certainly before the end of this month, as the Minister stated—to learn any lessons and to respond to the ever-dynamic weather events we have seen in recent weeks? With many warnings for flooding still in place, I know that many people will be experiencing huge anxiety and uncertainty, so I conclude by wishing every community, and the services and people supporting them, a safe period moving forward.
Emma Hardy
I will try to answer as many of the hon. Gentleman’s questions as I can. I share his concern about the impact of flooding on people’s mental health, which cannot be exaggerated. Someone losing their home, or seeing it damaged, and having to move out over the winter has a devastating impact on them. I agree that farmers have done a great job in supporting communities at risk of flooding.
On Flood Re, we do not currently have plans to extend the scope; however, we regularly review all policies. If any hon. Member wants to contact me with specific suggestions on Flood Re, I am open to receiving them.
On the different pockets of funding that the previous Government announced, we will look at how the flood funding formula works as a whole. I mentioned the review of the formula, and I will let the hon. Gentleman know as soon as it goes live so that he can join in the consultation.
We will hopefully be able to announce the schemes that are being funded by next month. I know that people have been impatient to receive that information. We have worked as quickly as we can. There is a formula for when Bellwin is activated—a local authority has to hit a certain level of expenditure. We have been really pleased that money from the farming recovery fund has already arrived in farmers’ bank accounts. We have been getting that money out the door to the people who need it the most.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
I call Tim Roca, member of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.
Tim Roca (Macclesfield) (Lab)
I join both Front-Benchers in paying tribute to the communities, volunteers and neighbours who helped each other with the floods over recent days. Communities affected in my part of the world, particularly in Poynton and Bollington, all pulled together. The A555 road runs through a number of constituencies, and poor engineering has been raised several times as a reason why it floods, affecting local residents. Will the Minister join me in speaking with the Department for Transport and local authorities to try to get to the bottom of why it repeatedly ends up failing our residents?
Emma Hardy
I thank my hon. Friend for his work to support his community at this difficult time. If I can be of assistance in talking to the Department for Transport, of course I will be.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.
Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)
Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent. New Environment Agency modelling shows that one in four properties in England, including an additional 39,000 homes in the south-west, could be at risk of flooding by 2050.
Like many across Glastonbury and Somerton, I watch this happen in real time. Residents are on high alert, they are anxious and their mental health is suffering. Knole is a small hamlet between Langport and Somerton that previously never flooded, but last winter nine homes flooded every month. With just 40 houses in the hamlet, such incidents have a huge impact on the local community. One affected resident told me they had to watch the ingress of water through every wall in their house. Another said they were unable to return home until mid-summer after last year’s winter flooding. Their experiences and those of many residents across Somerset, and those set out in the national flood risk assessment, show that heavier rainfall and rising sea levels already threaten 2.4 million properties, so will the Minister commit to ensuring that agencies such as Natural England and the Environment Agency are properly funded to deal with flooding and future flooding?
Emma Hardy
The hon. Lady is right to point out the impact on people’s mental health. I urge her to invite communities that experience repeated flooding to look at the Build Back Better scheme. They could be able to access an extra £10,000 to make their homes more resilient to flooding. As I said, this is something that I care deeply about, as does the Department, which is why we are investing £2.4 billion in delivering, improving and maintaining flood defences.
Jo White (Bassetlaw) (Lab)
Mr Wilson of Blackstope Lane in Retford contacted me this morning, worried that water was once again coming close to his property. He has been flooded out many times, but today I thank the Minister for the work of the Environment Agency; staff were on site with their pumps from the early hours of this morning. They tell me that the clearance work on local culverts has made a difference and the water has been kept at bay. Mr Wilson’s hope is that that will continue.
Emma Hardy
I share my hon. Friend’s thanks to the Environment Agency. It does an incredible job and was out there working new year’s eve and new year’s day—not celebrating like many of us, but out helping and supporting. I am pleased to hear that positive story from her constituency.
Lincoln Jopp (Spelthorne) (Con)
The people of Spelthorne have been holding their breath during this flood season. Obviously, prevention is better than cure. Can the Minister update us on the River Thames scheme and on when a decision about whether it will go ahead and when will be taken?
Emma Hardy
I just mentioned in response to the shadow Minister that we should be able to announce which schemes have been successful by next month at the latest. If the hon. Gentleman writes to me with more information, I can give him a more detailed response on the scheme he mentions, but I recognise how important many of the schemes are to so many people.
Ms Julie Minns (Carlisle) (Lab)
I have been personally affected by flooding. In 1985, our family home was flooded when the River Caldew in Carlisle burst its banks. I can testify, as we have already heard, to the terror and powerlessness that people feel when their home is invaded by water. Although over the past few weeks we have escaped flooding in Carlisle, tomorrow marks 20 years since Carlisle was flooded and three residents, Margaret Threlkeld, Margaret Porter and Michael Scott, lost their lives. At that point, the Labour Government commissioned and completed flood defences, but they proved insufficient to hold back the River Eden in 2015, and the city was flooded again. Flood defences were commissioned but not completed by the last Government. Does the Minister agree that it is unacceptable that the residents of Carlisle have been left unprotected as a result of the last Government’s inaction?
Emma Hardy
Hearing the news that anybody has lost their life in a flood event is truly devastating, and my sympathies are with the family and loved ones of those victims. My hon. Friend is right to point out the importance of delivering on the promise to build flood defences and to highlight that poor maintenance of flood defences puts an additional 60,000 homes at risk of flooding. She has already proven herself to be a fantastic champion by getting hold of me at every available opportunity to advocate for her constituency, and long may she continue to do so.
Esther McVey (Tatton) (Con)
A number of my constituents have been affected by flooding and in a variety of ways. The Minister mentioned in her opening statement the breach of the Bridgewater canal, the damage that that has caused in Cheshire, and the immediate repair work that needs to be done by Peel. What is being done to ensure that local authorities clear blocked drains, because that is the root of most of the flooding?
Emma Hardy
The right hon. Lady is right that we need a combination of things to deal with flooding. There is a concern around the canal, which I am aware of and am grateful for her mentioning it, but it is important to look at lots of different things, including clearing out culverts and drains where appropriate. Many things need to be done together to ensure that we build resilience to flooding. We cannot put all our eggs in one basket, but certainly taking more of those smaller actions will have a cumulative effect and help the situation.
Dr Jeevun Sandher (Loughborough) (Lab)
Over the past 24 hours, heavy rainfall has led to flooding in my constituency in Loughborough, Quorn and Hathern. A year ago, the Prime Minister visited Loughborough when that bout of flooding ruined homes—we were both deeply moved. The Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Streatham and Croydon North (Steve Reed), has also visited those homes. I am grateful that the Minister has strengthened flood defences since she was appointed. I am incredibly grateful that this time the flood has left less damage, but heavier rainfall will come due to climate change. Will the Minister set out how this Government will protect homes in my community, and will she meet me to discuss how we can do everything we can to protect our homes?
Emma Hardy
Again, my hon. Friend is right to point out how devastating flooding is. I would of course be happy to meet him and discuss the situation in his constituency, but just to reassure him, we will spend £2.4 billion in the next two years to strengthen, improve and maintain our flood defences.
John Glen (Salisbury) (Con)
The £13 million investment in the Salisbury river park scheme is a fantastic intervention, but I urge the Minister to continue working with the Environment Agency to find mechanisms with which parishes can work collaboratively with it to develop smaller schemes. Beyond the crisis management that she and the Environment Agency are working on at the moment, does she recognise that there is concern about inadequate scrutiny of the increased flood risk around new developments? If we are to reassure our constituents when more housing is put into the mix, it is important that there be proper consideration of the effect on flood risk. Many people in Salisbury remain concerned about those outcomes.
Emma Hardy
The right hon. Gentleman is always welcome to urge me to do many things. His proposal on how the Environment Agency works with local parishes is an interesting one, and I would be happy to hear more of his thoughts on it. To reassure people about new homes, we have committed to building more high-quality, well-designed and sustainable homes, and to ensuring that they do not increase flood risk and are not at risk of flooding. If alternative sites are not available and developments need to be in locations where there is a risk of flooding, they must be flood resilient and resistant for their lifetimes, and must not increase overall flood risk.
Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
I put on record my thanks to City of York council workers, as well as to the Environment Agency, for protecting our city over the new year period. Many businesses in my city flood periodically. Will the Minister think again about a review of the insurance system for businesses, so that they have resilience and confidence moving forward?
Emma Hardy
I thank my hon. Friend for her question and for joining the call that we held with all the different organisations on the Friday. I anticipated that I might be pushed on that question, and I have to admire her persistence on it. Of course, I understand the importance of Flood Re and of businesses having insurance. The Flood Re scheme was originally designed in a very specific way, but I am always happy to take further representations from my hon. Friend.
Layla Moran (Oxford West and Abingdon) (LD)
I received an email from Laura, a constituent in Abingdon. She lives in an area that has been flooded three times in the past year—in fact, there is a flood warning for the River Ock again today. She says that the flooding means she cannot sell her house—nor can any of her neighbours —as estate agents say that it must be five years dry before they will even consider it. As a result, my constituents stand to lose millions between them and some have lost jobs because they cannot move. What work is the Department doing with estate agents and the building industry to ensure that newly built houses are built well, and that houses that need to be sold can be sold?
Emma Hardy
As I outlined earlier, we will ensure that any new homes are resistant to flooding and, importantly, do not contribute to more flooding in other areas—that is incredibly important. I do not know the details of the area and the constituents the hon. Lady mentions—such as whether a flood scheme is ready to be developed there or they have thought about property flood resilience measures—but if she gives me more information, I will happily look at it.
Adam Jogee (Newcastle-under-Lyme) (Lab)
I thank the Minister for the call on Friday. I welcome her commitment to supporting my constituents and improving our flood defences. As well as maintaining defences, it is very much about maintaining existing infrastructure, and ensuring in particular that our drains are unblocked, to reiterate the point made by the right hon. Member for Tatton (Esther McVey). Staffordshire county council has an important role to play in that in Newcastle-under-Lyme, but it is very much missing in action. What engagement has the Minister had with local government, and will she meet me to discuss the specific flooding challenges faced by constituents in Madeley, Silverdale, Cross Heath, Alsagers Bank, and those using the subways in town?
Emma Hardy
Part of the reason that we wanted to set up the flood resilience taskforce was to end the siloed working between different Government organisations. It is jointly chaired by me and a Minister from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government so that we can look at where issues overlap. How can I turn down an invitation to meet my hon. Friend?
Sarah Bool (South Northamptonshire) (Con)
Across my constituency, be it in Grendon or Bugbrooke, flood warnings come hours after the flood events have occurred. What action will the Minister take to ensure that flood warnings are timely and accurate?
Emma Hardy
That is a really important question, and I am grateful that the hon. Lady has raised it. Of course, in the majority of situations in which flood warnings went out, people were given timely notice—again, I ask all Members to please encourage their constituents to sign up for flood warnings—but I am now looking at situations in which those warnings were not received in time with the Met Office and the Environment Agency, to understand why that has happened and how we can improve it in the future. We need to ensure that people are getting those warnings as quickly as possible so that they can take the actions needed.
John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)
I visited the village of Wolston in my constituency this morning. I met the council emergency teams and members of the flood action group. I saw the community spirit in action, with refreshments being supplied by volunteers at the Baptist church. Most importantly, I visited residents who have been suffering. One of the issues raised with me was the property flood resilience grant and its operation. Residents mentioned that they need to find £800 for a survey, and that contractors ask for £300 before they give a quote. They talked about major delays, and I saw the consequences of those delays, because some of the houses that were flooded would have benefited from the preventive measures. Will the Minister take a look at that mechanism and write to me about it?
Emma Hardy
Of course, where schemes are not working as effectively as they should—where there is room for improvement—this Government will make sure they do everything they can to improve things and make them better. I am happy to receive that communication.
Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)
Like the shadow Minister, I feel like a bit of a stuck record on the topic of flooding. This is the fourth month running in which I have spoken on it in the House, because it is the fourth month running in which my constituency has been flooded. Today, yet again, roads are inundated, trains are cancelled and homes are taking in water.
In her statement, the Minister mentioned the fact that climate change means that these incidents will become more frequent and severe, but there was no explicit mention of climate adaptation in the measures she set out. In our response to this issue, we surely have to take the challenge of climate adaptation seriously as a whole-of-Government challenge. The chair of the Climate Change Committee has said that the UK is “not ready”, so what is the Minister doing with colleagues across Government to ensure we take the challenge of climate adaptation as seriously as possible? Otherwise, we will be back here month after month.
Emma Hardy
I cannot speak for all of Government, but I can certainly speak for what we are doing about property flood resilience—how we make our homes more resilient to flooding. We know that flooding is going to become more frequent because of changes to the climate, so climate adaptation is an area I am very keen on. That is why I met with all the insurance companies last year, bringing them all together, because I want every single insurance company to offer build back better, making more homes flood resilient. Of course, it is important that we look not only at retrofitting what we already have, but at what is happening with new builds.
Amanda Martin (Portsmouth North) (Lab)
I echo the Minister’s heartfelt sympathies for those feeling the impact of flooding and those who are in fear of future flooding. I also echo her thanks to the services and communities who have helped those victims. In Drayton and Farlington in my constituency, groundwater floods up through the drains into houses, drives, gardens and businesses. Despite being contacted by residents and by myself, Southern Water has not acted, because it is not sewage. I would like to see DEFRA working with water companies and local government to ensure that type of flooding is also taken seriously, to make sure that residents and businesses are listened to, and to improve resilience in our drainage systems.
Emma Hardy
I share my hon. Friend’s upset about the fact that this issue is not being taken seriously enough by Southern Water, but having known her for a very long time, I have no doubt that if there is someone who will make that company listen, it is her. I am happy to support her with that.
Lewis Cocking (Broxbourne) (Con)
I draw Members’ attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, and I thank everyone who has been out helping over the past few days. Every time there is heavy rainfall or a storm, roads all across Broxbourne flood, from Stanstead Abbotts to Waltham Cross. What action will the Minister’s Department take to decrease flooding events in built-up areas? We in Broxbourne have not always seen the good side of the Environment Agency, so what can we do to increase its accountability as well?
Emma Hardy
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question, and I am sorry to hear that the experience of the Environment Agency has not been what he expects. I would be more than happy to put him in touch with the EA area director, so that they can have a conversation and work out how to improve the situation. Urban flooding is one of the reasons we want to look at what are called SUDS—sustainable urban drainage systems—and how we can integrate more of those into our communities to help deal with some of the problems with surface water flooding.
Mr Luke Charters (York Outer) (Lab)
I thank my hon. Friend the Minister for and congratulate her on how she has engaged with Members of this House, and how she has supported me and my constituents in delivering a pump at Hartrigg Oaks. May I invite her to support another scheme in the Fordlands Road area in Fulford, which would dramatically reduce the risk of flooding there?
Emma Hardy
My hon. Friend is very charming, which always makes it harder to say no. I would be happy to look into the scheme in more detail for him.
Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)
Every time we have a major storm or sustained rainfall, the Bakers Arms roundabout on the A35 becomes impassable, trapping the people of the Purbecks and the town of Wareham on, ironically, the Isle of Purbeck. What is the Minister doing to bring together the Department for Transport, the Environment Agency, Highways England and local authorities to plan for main routes to be prioritised for permanent flooding solutions?
Emma Hardy
I thank the hon. Lady for her question. That is a really important question because, particularly today and in the past couple of days, many of our highways have been impacted. Indeed, as has been mentioned, the railways have also been impacted. I found it more difficult to get here, as I know have other hon. Members. She is quite right that we should look at working together, and that may be one of the actions we look at in the flood resilience taskforce.
Ashley Dalton (West Lancashire) (Lab)
I also echo the words of many across the House about the work of the statutory services, particularly all those who worked in West Lancashire. Our community spirit has been exceptional; I particularly note the work of my constituent Laura Caunce from the Ormskirk community group, who has co-ordinated volunteers on the ground, and has run a crowdfunder and raised over £5,000 already to support local people affected by floods.
I welcome the Minister’s statement and many of the announcements, particularly the £50 million for internal drainage boards. My hon. Friend will be aware that there are some parts of the country, such as mine in West Lancashire, that cannot get an IDB, because legislation prevents the creation of a new one. What timeline are we looking at for bringing forward legislation so that we can really move forward on flood prevention and water management in West Lancashire?
Emma Hardy
I thank my hon. Friend and congratulate her constituent who has managed to raise £5,000, which is incredible. I am at heart an optimist and always see the bright side. The silver lining in the clouds has definitely been seeing communities coming together and people working together despite the horrible situations they have been facing. I am working on the issue of creating more internal drainage boards at the moment. I am sorry that I cannot give an exact timeline, but I can tell her I am working on it right now.
Harriet Cross (Gordon and Buchan) (Con)
It is widely known that the more impermeable the land—pavements, roads and housing developments, for example—the more likely we are to see flooding. With this in mind, and also bearing in mind the Minister’s response earlier about ensuring that new housing developments are not at risk of flooding, what assessment have the Government made of the downstream impacts of a development and what is happening with flooding further down the valley?
Emma Hardy
That is an important question. Without going into this in too much detail, one of the important things when looking at sustainable urban drainage solutions is how they are going to work in communities, because we cannot solve a problem in one area and say we are dealing with flooding there if it creates a problem somewhere else. Part of the calculation that needs to be made if we are to use SUDS in new developments is exactly to make sure that it is not going to impact on or increase the likelihood of flooding somewhere else. Otherwise, the system is not working effectively. It is a really important issue, and I am grateful that the hon. Member has raised it.
Amanda Hack (North West Leicestershire) (Lab)
I thank the Minister for her statement. As a major incident has been declared in Leicestershire, I want to thank our emergency responders, our local government and the Environment Agency, but I also want to thank and honour the amazing work of our flood volunteers. I spoke to one this morning, who was exhausted having been up all night. I pay tribute to her. Could the Minister confirm how local communities such as mine in Measham, Packington and Long Whatton will be supported in the long term to recover from repeated flood events? At what point will we see a stop to these events in our communities?
Emma Hardy
I thank my hon. Friend. I am sure her constituent has done an incredible job—the flood groups have done an amazing job—and I understand why she must be feeling so exhausted. We have mentioned the impact that flood events have on people’s mental health. We want to look at areas at risk of repeated flooding in the flooding formula review to make sure that those areas are getting the support they need. The immediate post-flood situation is of course for MHCLG, but if I can help in any way she needs only to contact me.
Charlie Maynard (Witney) (LD)
Many of us recognise that our drainage network is in disrepair in many places. Much of that stems from the Environment Agency’s main river designation; an enormous amount of bureaucracy is required in order to get permission to unblock what is nominally called a main river but to almost all of us is a ditch. These ditch networks are very broad; in Northmoor and Bablock Hythe in my constituency, virtually every ditch is a main river, which means that in one case we required about three years to get a permit from the EA. That makes things extremely difficult and nothing ever gets done. We have had five permits in five years from the EA throughout the West Oxfordshire district. Will the Minister please consider doing two things: making it easier to de-designate main rivers to ordinary watercourses; and simplifying the EA’s permit procedure, which is incredibly byzantine, so that people can apply for permits and be able to unblock their ditches?
Emma Hardy
I am incredibly interested in what the hon. Gentleman has had to say, because the last thing we want is it taking five years to deal with a problem when there is a simple solution for it. If unwanted bureaucracy is causing a problem, I would like to try and help. I ask the hon. Member please to send me all the information. I am happy to have that conversation with the EA, and let us see what can be done.
Patrick Spencer (Central Suffolk and North Ipswich) (Con)
There are loads of landowners in Suffolk who want to take steps to mitigate flooding. The problem is they need a flood risk assessment permit, but FRAPs are expensive and hard to come by, so what can the Department do to make them easier to access and cheaper? That would make a real difference.
Emma Hardy
I thank the hon. Gentleman; that was another interesting and thoughtful question. I am happy to look into this in more detail for him, because if there are rules and regulations that are not working, as a new Government we do not need to keep them. If they are not working, let us change things and make things better. The hon. Member should send me the information and I can have a proper look at it.
Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)
Returning to the issue of wider infrastructure in surface water flooding, recent examples in my constituency include a householder who has been affected by water running from an incomplete major housing development who has been told nothing can be enforced until the development is finished, and another where a road safety scheme is funnelling water into their property. What action will the Government take to ensure that infrastructure is being designed with surface water flooding in mind and to ensure that developers have to provide appropriate drainage right the way through the build-out of major developments?
Emma Hardy
I am really sorry to hear about the hon. Lady’s constituents facing such an incredibly unfair situation for anybody to have to deal with. That is why the fact that sustainable drainage systems and schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 that we brought in were never enacted is so important, and that is why we are looking at that now, because there need to be adequate drainage systems in new designs. That should have been in place since 2010, but the previous Government did not enact it. This Government are serious about getting on with it.
Mr Andrew Snowden (Fylde) (Con)
I echo the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Broxbourne (Lewis Cocking): although I am incredibly grateful to a lot of frontline workers from the Environment Agency and elsewhere for the work they have done to keep houses and businesses safe, we have not always seen the best of the EA as an organisation. Councillor Tommy Threlfall, our cabinet member, and other community members and business owners were desperately trying to get hold of someone at the Environment Agency while all the fields around Main Drain were flooding and not one of the pumps at Lytham pumping station was active, as there was about to be a high tide into the low, flat lands the Minister referred to, which are at the tail end of the risk of flooding as the water moves downstream. What is the Minister going to do to help local communities better engage with agencies such as the EA in the midst of flooding, to get real-time information into the organisation and, most importantly, to get it acted upon to keep businesses and residences safe?
Emma Hardy
If the hon. Gentleman has not had the experience he needs with the Environment Agency, I am happy to take up that issue. An hon. Friend mentioned a good idea on the call last Friday: issuing an emergency flood pack to MPs containing all the details and information of who to contact and when. Members would then have that information when they needed it and be able to get hold of people exactly at the point they needed to do so. That issue has come out, especially with it happening over new year’s eve. People and the EA were out there working, but we have to make sure we have that communication. That is so incredibly important. I am thinking through different ways I can improve communication, but I will make sure that the area manager gets in contact with the hon. Gentleman.
Chris Coghlan (Dorking and Horley) (LD)
Many of my constituents have been affected by flooding overnight, but it has been particularly bad in Horley, where for the second time in recent months people’s homes have been flooded by raw sewage. Will the Minister meet me to discuss what can be done to hold Thames Water to account in operating its sewage works—particularly in the light of several new housing developments in the area, which will make the problem even worse—and to stop it dumping raw sewage in my residents’ homes?
Emma Hardy
That is a horrific experience, and I am so sorry that those people have had to deal with that. I will meet the hon. Gentleman. It is so important we have that £88 billion of investment to improve infrastructure and to upgrade the water system, so that we do not keep having horrific incidents, such as the one he mentions.
Shockat Adam (Leicester South) (Ind)
As Members from all parts of the House have already mentioned, one of the major causes of flooding is the blockage of our drainage systems and gulleys. Unfortunately, many councils nationally have reduced the frequency of cleaning gulleys due to budgetary pressures. Areas such as my landlocked constituency are seeing flooding like never before; my local Victoria Park health centre is flooded as we speak. Will the Minister commit to providing more funding for councils to assist our larger agencies, such as the Environment Agency?
Emma Hardy
I thank the hon. Gentleman for highlighting the impact that flooding has, not just on homes but on medical facilities. It is important, but we need to look in the round at what makes the most difference in improving flood resilience within a community. One of the things I have mentioned to many other Members is the build back better scheme, under which there can be an extra £10,000 to make properties more flood resilient. It might be good to have a conversation about that in terms of other houses in the local area, so that we can improve property flood resilience. Flooding will not be solved by one thing; we need to look at as many different things as we can and accumulate them to make the biggest impact.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the Minister for her statement and for her clear energy and commitment to trying to make lives better across the United Kingdom. The rain of the last few weeks explains the significant flooding—some would say it is of biblical proportions—and it has led to many roads being closed and air travel being affected for many. Disruption is extensive across the middle and north-east of England and in other parts of the United Kingdom, so what is being done to minimise travel disruption for so many going back to work and others going back to school this week?
Emma Hardy
I am delighted that the hon. Gentleman has asked the last question on my first statement. In terms of what can be done, we need to continue to work with other Departments through the flood resilience taskforce to look at how we can improve resilience and ensure that people get back to work. As he knows, flooding and water is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland, but it is always good to get him in at the end.
Neonicotinoid Pesticides
Emma Hardy Excerpts(1 day, 7 hours ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
The UK Government are setting out their plans to deliver their commitment to end the use in England of toxic neonicotinoid pesticides that threaten vital pollinators.
Bees and other insects are critical pollinators. They play a key role in food production, with the economic benefits of pollination to crop production in the UK estimated at £500 million each year. Pollinators also support the wider environment and the beauty of our rural and urban spaces. Pollinators face many pressures —including loss of habitat, pests and pathogens and climate change—and their numbers and diversity have declined as a result. It is our responsibility to act now to reverse this trend.
One of the pressures on pollinators is the use of certain pesticides. Three specific neonicotinoid pesticides —clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam—have already been removed from general use because of evidence that their use can harm pollinators. Even at doses that are not directly fatal to bees they can cause cognitive problems, impacting foraging abilities and the productivity of colonies.
Despite this, the last Government continued to allow the use of a neonicotinoid (thiamethoxam) seed treatment on sugar beet crops in England under emergency authorisation arrangements. Emergency authorisations are temporary measures intended to protect crops in exceptional circumstances. We do not consider that they should be used to perpetuate the use of neonicotinoids that can have a long-term effect on biodiversity.
We will break free from this cycle. We will identify and assess potential changes to legislation that would stop the use of emergency authorisations for products containing clothianidin, imidacloprid or thiamethoxam.
We will also review and update the approach to decisions on applications for emergency authorisations in England. The revised approach will be set out in published guidance which will clearly state how future decisions on emergency authorisation will take full account of the importance of pollinators and of the risks they may face if emergency authorisation is granted.
These commitments are made by the UK Government in respect of the position in England only, because pesticide policy and regulation is devolved. A common approach to delivering on this issue is, however, highly desirable. The UK Government will therefore look to work with the devolved Governments in Northern Ireland—recognising the provisions of the Windsor framework—Scotland and Wales to seek a consistent way forward across the UK.
These measures come ahead of the publication of a new UK national action plan (NAP), which will set how pesticides can be used sustainably. The Government are committed to supporting farmers to protect their crops in more sustainable ways. This includes funding for research into precision breeding for virus-resistant varieties of sugar beet.
The plans are outlined in more detail in a document entitled “A new approach to the use of certain neonicotinoids on crops grown in England” which the Government are placing today in the Libraries of both Houses. The document is also available on www.gov.uk.
[HCWS352]
Oral Answers to Questions
Emma Hardy Excerpts(2 weeks, 5 days ago)
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Richard Burgon (Leeds East) (Ind)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
Mr Speaker, merry Christmas to you and all your staff. I put on the record my sympathy with everyone affected by water outages in Southampton; I discussed the matter with the chief executive officer yesterday.
We will have a public consultation in the new year on the formula that allocates flood defence funding, to ensure that the challenges facing businesses in rural and coastal communities are adequately taken into account. Protecting communities from flooding is a top priority, and later today I will have a winter flood preparedness meeting. I thank everyone who will be on duty over the Christmas period.
Dr Gardner
My constituency of Stoke-on-Trent South has many farmers, some of whom are personal friends. On their behalf, I ask the Minister to update the House on the funds that the Government are making available via the farming recovery fund to support farmers impacted by last year’s severe weather.
Emma Hardy
The Government recognise the awful impact that flooding has had on the farming community. We are releasing £60 million via the farming recovery fund to support farmers impacted by last year’s severe weather—£10 million more than was planned by the previous Government—and £55.7 million has been paid out to over 12,700 farm businesses.
Richard Burgon
While the far right and shamefully even some MPs in this House are busy denying climate change and trying to turn it into the latest culture war, people in our communities are paying the price. More and more severe floods are devastating people’s lives, as we have seen again in recent weeks, and I am afraid it will only get worse. Does the Minister agree that it is an absolute disgrace that the last Government left our flood defences in the worst state on record, and that fixing that has to be a national priority and a key part of preparing for climate change?
Emma Hardy
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The previous Government left flood defences in a state of disrepair—the worst state on record—leaving 60,000 homes exposed. That is why this Government will invest £2.4 billion into defences over the next two years.
Mr Andrew Snowden (Fylde) (Con)
In Fylde, a number of new housing developments over the years have been constructed in flood areas where the developers knew that the construction sites had flooded, yet they still sold properties without disclosing that to buyers, and in some circumstances they had not constructed the flood defence requirements—the mitigations on site—to spec. Both residents and councils have felt powerless to get developers to correct what they should have got right in the first place, and a number of properties have flooded several times since people purchased them. What plans does the Minister have to give residents and councils more power to hold developers to account when they do not properly construct developments or disclose information about flooding?
Emma Hardy
I share the hon. Gentleman’s upset about the rules on housing and flooding not being implemented by the previous Government. We need more sustainable urban drainage in more developments, and it is important that it is built into planning applications to begin with. If he would like to contact me, I can look into the matter in more detail for him.
Ben Obese-Jecty (Huntingdon) (Con)
Across Huntingdon, flooding continues to be an issue that impacts a huge number of constituents, with flooding almost inevitable every time it rains. Alconbury flood group is a leading flood group in the constituency, and Charles Dalleywater has been a driving force in implementing flood mitigation measures, such as the recently opened alderman’s retention pond at Sallows farm that was planned by the flood group after funding was provided by Anglian Water, Huntingdonshire district council and Cambridgeshire county council. What funding is available from the Government to facilitate the construction of further retention ponds?
Emma Hardy
I thank all flood action groups around the country for doing incredible work for their communities. That sounds like a brilliant example. As I mentioned, we are investing £2.4 billion over the next couple of years. I hope to be able to give more detail in the new year.
Rebecca Smith (South West Devon) (Con)
Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
I thank the hon. Lady for raising this important issue. The Drinking Water Inspectorate requires water companies to monitor, assess and report on the risks from PFAS. We are aware of concerns relating to that, and officials are working on it.
Munira Wilson
Happy Christmas, Mr Speaker.
I thank the Minister for her answer and for offering me a meeting on this topic earlier this week—I look forward to pursuing it with her. Given the wealth of authoritative evidence on the harmful impact on human health of PFAS in our drinking water, and that Scotland, the European Union and the United States have all put PFAS guidance on a statutory footing, why do this Government appear to have no plans to do the same for England and Wales? Will the Minister consider amending the Water (Special Measures) Bill to that end?
Emma Hardy
As I have mentioned, this is an important issue, and I look forward to discussing it in more detail. Work to assess the risks of PFAS, and to inform policy and regulatory approaches—including banning or highly restricting certain chemicals and addressing issues caused by their historical use—is continuing. The nature of PFAS chemicals and their persistence once in the environment means that there are no quick fixes, but this is a global challenge. Innovation in suitable PFAS alternatives is needed, and we are working to harness industry leadership in the transition away from PFAS. I assure the hon. Lady that work on this issue is ongoing.
Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)
Richard Tice (Boston and Skegness) (Reform)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
Dredging can be a useful option for managing flood risk, usually as part of a wider approach, where it is technically effective, cost- effective and does not significantly increase flood risk for others. Of course, we need to adopt the best solution for each place.
Richard Tice
I wish a merry Christmas to one and all.
My constituents in Boston and Skegness are very concerned that the Environment Agency is unable to properly maintain riverbanks and properly dredge rivers in order to protect homes and livelihoods because of the very demanding requirements of Natural England regarding the protection of badgers and water voles, which means that the priorities are wrong. Will the Minister meet me and senior people at the Environment Agency to ensure that we get these priorities correct?
Emma Hardy
Dredging used to be commonplace, but some evidence shows that it can speed up flow and potentially increase the risk of flooding downstream. There are currently no plans for any further dredging in Boston and Skegness, but I am happy to meet the hon. Gentleman and the EA area manager to discuss this further.
Blake Stephenson (Mid Bedfordshire) (Con)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
I would be delighted to work with my hon. Friend on this important issue. The Association of Drainage Authorities is on the flood resilience taskforce, and the statutory instrument will be laid as soon as parliamentary time allows.
John Milne (Horsham) (LD)
Sarah Edwards (Tamworth) (Lab)
Merry Christmas to you, Mr Speaker, and to your team and to colleagues across the House. My constituents have long felt the impacts of flooding, and many residents have been isolated in rural areas after a storm. I have recently produced a flooding report. Will the Minister meet me to discuss it, so that I can support the work of the Department?
Emma Hardy
There is a very easy and short answer to that: I would be delighted to meet my hon. Friend.
Ben Maguire (North Cornwall) (LD)
Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Suffolk Coastal) (Lab)
I recently met the Alde and Ore Estuary Trust, which has long been campaigning and fundraising to refurbish and secure flood defences on the Alde and Ore estuary. Will the Minister meet me to discuss the trust’s projects and the barriers to progress?
Emma Hardy
Each time I come here for questions, I promise that I will not arrange to meet as many Members, and each time I fail. I would of course be happy to meet my hon. Friend.
Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords]
Emma Hardy ExcerptsMonday 16th December 2024
(3 weeks, 1 day ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Water (Special Measures) Bill [HL] 2024-26 View all Water (Special Measures) Bill [HL] 2024-26 Debates Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts Amendment Paper: HL Bill 45-I(a) Amendment for Report (Supplementary to the Marshalled List) - (19 Nov 2024)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
I thank all Members who have participated in today’s debate; it has been a privilege to listen to the thoughtful and varied contributions made by colleagues across the House. I am sorry that, because there were just so many of them, I will be unable to refer to each one individually. However, I add my thanks to the citizen scientists in many constituencies who have been mentioned. I thank the school eco clubs, which have also had a mention, all the workers out there and the regulators. I state my recognition of the impact that sewage pollution has not just on the environment, but on tourism and local businesses. May I say how impressed I am by the number of Members who go wild swimming? I add my mum to the list of people who love doing that.
I must confess that, with nine days to Christmas, my love of Christmas may shine through in these closing remarks. I believe I might even have detected just a sprinkling of Christmas magic in the air, because what other explanation can there possibly be for all the unity we have heard across the Chamber? Nobody is telling us that they want the status quo, everybody thinks the situation has got worse, and through the many conversations I have had as Minister, I know that those opinions are shared by investors, environmental groups, the general public and even the water companies themselves.
I know, like all Members here, that all I want for Christmas are cleaner rivers, lakes and seas. In fact, as I think back to last Christmas, I believe that the public had almost given up hope. Our rivers, lakes and seas were polluted, bonuses were being awarded to polluting water bosses, wrongdoing was often going unpunished, and overseeing that failure were a tired Government who had run out of ideas. Then, something great happened: the wonderful people of our country elected a Labour Government. That Labour Government immediately got to work drafting this Water (Special Measures) Bill, along with a water commission to fundamentally transform our water sector for decades to come. It will prove that we did not need a Christmas miracle to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas; we just needed a Labour Government. The Bill will drive meaningful improvements in the performance and culture of the water industry as part of a wider effort to ensure that water companies deliver for customers and the environment.
During the debate, I have been making a list, checking it twice, and I would like to respond to some of the main points made. On the scope of the Bill, reform and wider issues, Members across the House have spoken about the need for more radical reform and raised concerns about wider quality issues. This Bill is intentionally narrow. We are focused on improving the performance and culture of the water industry as an urgent priority, ahead of the forthcoming £88 billion of investment in the 2024 price review. Many Members spoke about the need to hold companies to account, and the measures in the Bill do just that.
However, we know that this Bill alone will not be enough to fix our water system; we know that we need to go further. That is why we have launched the independent commission, which will look at the roles and responsibilities of the regulator among many other fundamental aspects of the water sector. All Members are invited to participate in the call for evidence in the new year. Many Members have also spoken about our precious chalk streams. The Government are committed to the protection and restoration of our cherished chalk streams, and the best way to achieve that is by fixing the framework for managing our water system, as we are doing through the commission.
Some Members expressed concerns about the timing of the commission. I reassure the House that the commission will publish a report in quarter 2 of 2025, with recommendations for actionable solutions to the sector’s problems, which will inform further legislation to transform our water industry.
A few hon. Members mentioned that nationalisation was not in the Bill’s scope. To give the short answer, that would be complex and time-consuming, would halt the investment needed—we would lose £88 billion of private investment—and would do nothing to stop sewage pollution.
Many hon. Members have spoken about the need for our regulator to be properly equipped to make use of the new powers in the Bill. As the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron) mentioned, the Environment Agency is already recruiting up to 500 additional staff for inspections, enforcement and stronger regulation of the water industry, increasing compliance checks and quadrupling the number of water company inspections by March. However, the measures in the Bill go further and will better enable the regulators to ensure that companies are held to account. The new cost recovery power in the Bill will enable the Environment Agency to fully recover the costs of its water company enforcement activities.
In addition, new automatic penalties will allow the regulators to enforce minor to moderate offences more quickly and proportionately. Collectively, these measures will complement each other to enable the regulators to address widespread water industry underperformance. We are currently looking at the water restoration fund.
On protecting customers, many hon. Members rightly pointed out that companies have not delivered for their customers. I reassure all hon. Members that the Government are clear that customers should be placed at the heart of water company operations. That is why we will bring forward secondary legislation to introduce new and increased compensation—double the previous amount or more—which will be compulsory for water companies to pay customers for poor service, underscoring our commitment to hold companies to account and stand up for customers. That work, together with measures in the Bill that elevate the voices of consumers, will ensure that water companies deliver for their customers as a priority.
On the importance of transparency, we are better equipping customers to hold water companies to account. Clause 3 will close the current monitoring gap. However, monitoring volume and concentration is much more complex, leading to significant costs and a longer roll-out time. Such additional monitoring would not be proportionate for emergency overflows because they should be used only on very limited occasions.
Before we go—I have just a couple more—driving home for Christmas, I will conclude. The Bill will deliver the most significant increase in enforcement powers for water industry regulators in a decade, including strengthening regulation to ensure that water bosses face personal criminal liability for serious lawbreaking and new powers to ban bonuses from being paid if environmental standards are not met. The Bill is not just about policy; it is about protecting consumers, safeguarding our environment and ensuring that water companies operate transparently and responsibly.
I am confident that with the collective expertise and dedication of this House, we can pass this legislation and make a real impact. That is what we promised in our manifesto, and we know how important it is to keep our promises, especially at Christmas. So, in the spirit of Christmas and the season of good will to all, I thank everyone again for their contributions and welcome the opportunity to work collaboratively with all hon. Friends and Members across the House to ensure that we get the changes needed to give the gift of clean water to future generations. Finally, on behalf of the DEFRA Bill team, we wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year. I commend the Bill to the House.
Question put and agreed to.
Bill accordingly read a Second time.
Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords] (Programme)
Motion made, and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 83A(7)),
That the following provisions shall apply to the Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords]:
Committal
(1) The Bill shall be committed to a Public Bill Committee.
Proceedings in Public Bill Committee
(2) Proceedings in the Public Bill Committee shall (so far as not previously concluded) be broughht to a conclusion on Thursday 16 January 2025.
(3) The Public Bill Committee shall have leave to sit twice on the first day on which it meets.
Proceedings on Consideration and Third Reading .
(4) Proceedings on Consideration shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion one hour before the moment of interruption on the day on which those proceedings are commenced.
(5) Proceedings on Third Reading shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion at the moment of interruption on that day.
(6) Standing Order No. 83B (Programming committees) shall not apply to proceedings on Consideration and Third Reading.
Other proceedings
(7) Any other proceedings on the Bill may be programmed.—(Christian Wakeford.)
Question agreed to.
Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords] (Ways and Means)
Motion made, and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 52(1)(a)),
That, for the purposes of any Act resulting from the Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords], it is expedient to authorise:
(1) any increase attributable to the Act in charges or fees payable under any other Act; and
(2) the payment of sums into the Consolidated Fund.—(Christian Wakeford.)
Question agreed to.
Financial Inclusion: Rural Areas
Emma Hardy Excerpts(3 weeks, 6 days ago)
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Westminster Hall is an alternative Chamber for MPs to hold debates, named after the adjoining Westminster Hall.
Each debate is chaired by an MP from the Panel of Chairs, rather than the Speaker or Deputy Speaker. A Government Minister will give the final speech, and no votes may be called on the debate topic.
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
I congratulate the hon. Member for Frome and East Somerset (Anna Sabine) on securing her first Westminster Hall debate on such an important topic. Debates like this are very conversational; it is always nice when lots of people agree on the same thing. It is heartening when lots of people intervene and everybody agrees, so I thank the hon. Member for drawing attention to these important issues that really matter to the lives of all our constituents.
Ensuring that individuals have access to the appropriate financial services and products that they need, when they need them, is a key priority for the Government. It is an essential part of improving household financial wellbeing and ensuring that everyone is able to participate in the economy and benefit from the Government’s inclusive growth agenda. I recognise that tackling financial inclusion issues is particularly important for residents living in rural areas who face specific geographical challenges in accessing financial services. In today’s debate, we have had good examples of the particular challenges that people face.
Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland) (LD)
We tend to think of the issue as being principally about people having access to cash, but in communities like mine, where a lot of cruise ships come in the summer, tour guides get tipped in dollars, euros and other currency. For that, they need access to a bureau de change, which in our case is effectively the post office. Having a full range of post office services is particularly important so that they can pay their money in. When the Minister talks to her colleagues in the Department for Business and Trade about the future of Crown post offices, will she remember the range of potential impacts on local communities?
Emma Hardy
The right hon. Gentleman has made a good pitch for a cruise ship to visit his constituency. It was a good advertisement, and he made an important point about the role and importance of the post office. I am sure that it will be noted by the Department.
I know that many rural constituencies are concerned about the availability of cash, especially when they rely on it to pay for essential goods and services. We recognise how important that is for many vulnerable people. Arguments have been made by some—not by the Government—that people are using digital more and more, so there is less need for cash. However, we recognise that for some people it is the only way of paying bills and accessing funds. It is important that we continue to have it, because many rely on it for essential goods and services.
Although it is positive that data from the Financial Conduct Authority shows that over 98% of people in rural areas are within three miles of free-to-use withdrawal facilities, I understand the importance of ensuring that cash remains available for those who need it. The Financial Conduct Authority introduced its regulatory rules to protect access to cash on 18 September. In fact, under a previous Government I was on a Bill Committee debating that very issue, so I am pleased that we mandated access to cash.
The rules require the UK’s largest banks and building societies to assess the impact of the closure of a relevant cash access facility and put into place a new service if necessary. That ensures appropriate access to cash for those who need or choose to use it.
Lots of people asked about banking hubs. I should probably declare that I am getting a banking hub in my own constituency soon, which is very exciting. How do people get a banking hub in their constituency? I completely agree about face-to-face banking services. It is not just about accessing cash; it has a wider role to play. If someone is accessing banking facilities, it can be a way to spot financial crime and financial coercion as well, so it is important to have that.
The locations are independently determined by Link, the largest provider of the ATM network. When a cash service such as a bank branch closes, or Link receives a request directly from a community, Link assesses a community’s access to cash needs. A couple of people mentioned how they were not successful in their appeal for a banking hub. If people have already made a community request to Link and it has decided that no banking hub is needed, they can ask Link to review the decision within 28 days of the original assessment, stressing their concerns and evidence. I urge people to take advantage of that appeal process.
David Chadwick
Can the Minister clarify whether Link is covered by the growth duty, which requires regulators to consider the economic consequences of their actions? A point has been made a couple of times about the impact of these closures on local businesses.
Emma Hardy
Absolutely. Link is covered by the Financial Conduct Authority, which has a duty to promote growth. The criteria on which it bases its decision include whether there is a bank branch remaining, the population size, the number of shops on the high street, the distance to the nearest bank branch, the public transport links and the vulnerability of the population. I urge Members to appeal if they find themselves unsuccessful the first time around.
Alongside access to cash, I know that constituents are concerned about challenges in accessing in-person banking. As has been highlighted in this debate, that is particularly an issue for individuals living in rural areas, where in-person services are less easily accessed than in urban areas.
Matt Rodda
Does the Minister agree that an important point is that disabled and vulnerable people want to speak to another person? Getting advice and guidance from a qualified person who represents the bank and can help them with their banking is something that particularly concerns my constituents. It can also apply to small businesses, many of which want the ability to engage with bank staff to discuss their own financial matters.
Emma Hardy
I absolutely agree that that is important. On the issue of vulnerability, sometimes in-person services are a way in which financial coercion can be identified, which is always a huge concern. That is why the banking hubs are so important and the Government are committed to rolling them out. It is completely in character for my hon. Friend to highlight the need to support vulnerable people in his constituency.
My hon. Friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury is working closely with the industry to roll out 350 banking hubs across the UK, which will provide individuals who need face-to-face support with critical banking services. As I say, I am personally hugely supportive of the banking hubs.
We are taking further steps to ensure that individuals can access the financial services and products that they need. Last week—I was very excited about this—the Government announced a financial inclusion strategy to further tackle the problems of financial inclusion. The strategy will be supported by a committee that the Economic Secretary convened for the first time last week. The committee brings together consumer groups and the financial sector to consider a range of barriers to inclusion for excluded groups, focusing on key policy areas such as access to banking, insurance and affordable credit, another huge problem for vulnerable people.
It is clear that there are significant challenges that need addressing. A quarter of adults have less than £100 in savings. Over a million adults are unbanked. There is a reported £2 billion of unmet need for credit, and over 8 million people are struggling with financial debt. Under the financial inclusion strategy, the committee will be working with consumer groups and industry to develop a strategy, considering a range of barriers.
To tackle the long-term issues effectively, we need to listen to the voice of experts. That is why we have convened this group, which will be tasked with drawing on relevant expertise across the sector and on lived experience. We will also be listening to people on the ground, because this will require a joined-up approach across Government, the financial services sector and frontline organisations. We will be engaging widely on this agenda to ensure that the strategy considers a wide range of frontline perspectives.
The strategy will be published next year, following extensive work by the Financial Inclusion Committee to consider the barriers to access and solutions to address them. It is important that we take the time to get this right and seek input from those who are most affected by the issue of financial exclusion. That is why the Government have made clear our commitment to going further in tackling it. While that work is in its early stages, I know that the Economic Secretary recognises its importance to our constituents and will keep the House updated as it progresses.
I thank the hon. Member for Frome and East Somerset again. It has been a pleasure to participate in her first Westminster Hall debate, and I thank all hon. Members for participating. There is a lot of support in this room for banking services, and a recognition of the importance of face-to-face services and access to cash. It is crucial for everybody in our society to have access to the financial services they need, regardless of where they live.
Question put and agreed to.
Draft Movement of Goods (Northern Ireland to Great Britain) (Animals, Feed and Food, Plant Health etc.) (Transitory Provision and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2024
Emma Hardy Excerpts(1 month ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Movement of Goods (Northern Ireland to Great Britain) (Animals, Feed and Food, Plant Health etc.) (Transitory Provision and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2024.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. The draft regulations, which were laid before the House on 28 October, form part of the Government’s commitment to implementing the border target operating model by ensuring that sanitary and phytosanitary controls are applied to European Union and rest-of-world goods entering Great Britain through Northern Ireland. These controls are essential to maintaining the United Kingdom’s biosecurity and food safety, as well as focusing the benefits of unfettered access arrangements on qualifying Northern Ireland goods.
The draft instrument, which uses powers conferred by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, has two main purposes. The first is to apply pre-notification and sanitary and phytosanitary certification requirements to goods that are not qualifying Northern Ireland goods and that are entering Great Britain through Northern Ireland. These requirements are consistent with those already applied to certain European economic area goods and those entering Great Britain from Switzerland, Liechtenstein, the Faroe Islands and Greenland under the transitional staging period. This will mean that European Union and rest-of-world goods entering Great Britain through Northern Ireland are treated the same as such goods entering Great Britain through Ireland.
The second purpose of the draft instrument as to make consequential amendments to various pieces of sanitary and phytosanitary legislation. The definition of qualifying Northern Ireland goods was amended earlier this year for food and feed goods. The consequential amendments in the draft instrument will ensure that the updated definition is reflected consistently across the regulatory framework.
Let me emphasise from the outset that the Government remain fully committed to ensuring unfettered access for qualifying Northern Ireland goods to the rest of the UK market. The Windsor framework Command Paper, which was published by the previous Government in February 2023, and the border target operating model, which was published in August 2023, clearly state that Northern Ireland businesses will have unfettered access when moving qualifying Northern Ireland goods into Great Britain. The border target operating model also states that European Union and rest-of-world goods will be subject to sanitary and phytosanitary controls when moving from Northern Ireland into Great Britain. The approach adopted in this legislation is consistent with these commitments.
The draft regulations will not make any changes to the arrangements for moving qualifying Northern Ireland goods into Great Britain. Qualifying Northern Ireland goods will not be required to undergo any of the controls implemented by this legislation and will continue to move freely within the UK internal market. Indeed, by applying controls to European Union and rest-of-world goods entering Great Britain through Northern Ireland, these measures will more closely focus the benefits of unfettered market access on Northern Ireland traders moving qualifying Northern Ireland goods. This will sharpen their competitive advantage.
The sanitary and phytosanitary controls applied to European Union and rest-of-world goods entering Great Britain through Northern Ireland under the draft instrument are temporary. We will revoke the instrument when the transitional staging period, which allows for easements in the performance of official controls, ends. This is currently set at 1 July 2025.
Tom Collins (Worcester) (Lab)
I note that the long-term approach to NI-GB movements is still being developed. Should that programme of work extend beyond the end of the current transitional staging period on 1 July, will we then perform an impact assessment for the draft regulations, given that an impact assessment has not been prepared for them because of the short period for which they are to have effect?
Emma Hardy
We will absolutely be looking at all options. I cannot predict what will have happened by 1 July 2025; the legislation currently states that that is when the transitional staging period will end, but as my hon. Friend notes, work is ongoing.
A longer-term approach for further controls on European Union and rest-of-world goods entering Great Britain from the island of Ireland is yet to be implemented. The temporary nature of the draft instrument allows for biosecurity controls to be in place for those goods entering Great Britain from Northern Ireland ahead of that, although of course that is without prejudice to unfettered access protections granted to qualifying Northern Ireland goods. I must also highlight the fact that the draft instrument extends to England, Wales and Scotland.
I reaffirm the Government’s steadfast commitment to supporting the businesses and communities of Northern Ireland while safeguarding the integrity of the UK internal market. I commend the draft instrument to the Committee and look forward to hon. Members’ contributions.
Emma Hardy
I recognise the significant strength of feeling and the concerns that hon. Members hold about the draft regulations. I have been scribbling away and will do my best to answer as many questions as I can, but if Members are not satisfied with the level of detail that I am able to give, I commit to ensuring that my officials answer any other detailed questions in writing; I put that on the record. I am a little surprised, however, that the official Opposition are raising criticisms, considering that the regulations are a consequence of the Windsor framework, which was negotiated by the previous Government. If they had had concerns, that might have been the point at which to raise them. I will do my best to answer the questions of Northern Irish colleagues, but if they feel that I have not given them the detail that they require, I commit to ensuring that we follow up.
The full and constructive points that have been raised reflect the importance of the legislation and the principles that it upholds of maintaining our biosecurity, supporting the smooth functioning of the United Kingdom internal market and honouring the commitments made and negotiated under the Windsor framework. The draft instrument will deliver the necessary provisions to ensure that Great Britain’s responsibilities on biosecurity and food safety are upheld, which will safeguard the health of our people, animals and plants. I strongly reaffirm and strengthen the Government’s unwavering commitment to unfettered access for qualifying Northern Ireland goods to ensure that businesses in Northern Ireland continue to enjoy a unique position within the UK internal market.
I will cover as many as I can get through of the points that have been raised. I was asked about non-qualifying Northern Ireland goods. Non-qualifying Northern Ireland goods are any goods that fall outside the qualifying Northern Ireland goods definition, such as European Union and rest-of-world goods. For example, if goods have been moved into Northern Ireland from outside the UK, and one of the main purposes of that movement is to gain qualifying Northern Ireland goods status, in any subsequent move to Great Britain the goods are not qualifying Northern Ireland goods. Such goods do not benefit from unfettered market access. The draft instrument will ensure that they are subject to the relevant SPS and other controls on entering Great Britain through Northern Ireland. That will ensure that the benefits of unfettered access are targeted on Northern Ireland, rather than on EU and rest-of-world goods.
Sammy Wilson
Since those checks do not cover the goods when they come into Northern Ireland, but only when they go into GB, what assurances can the Minister give to people in Northern Ireland that they will not be subject to dangers or disadvantages that the rest of the United Kingdom will not face?
Emma Hardy
My understanding of the situation is that that is a consequence of the Windsor framework and the desire not to have a hard border within the island of Ireland, but if I am incorrect I will get the right hon. Gentleman a proper answer.
I was asked why the instrument is temporary. It will be revoked when the transitional staging period expires; as we have said, it is currently scheduled to end on 1 July 2025. The timeline for the implementation of further controls on non-qualifying goods entering Great Britain from the island of Ireland has not yet been announced. We will provide a further update on that in summer 2025. I repeat my commitment to inform and keep up to date all Northern Irish Members of Parliament especially, so that they know exactly what is happening and when.
Sammy Wilson
The move towards the border control operating model started under the last Government. As several hon. Members have already indicated, it was chaotic: no one could give any answers about how it would operate. I am sure that we have all met traders in our constituencies, especially hauliers, who could not get answers from His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs or any other Department. Will the Minister make sure not only that Northern Ireland Members are informed, but more importantly that businesses, which know the difficulties of operating under that model, are informed and have discussions with her?
Emma Hardy
The right hon. Gentleman makes a very valid point. We will absolutely do our best to make sure that all businesses and Members of Parliament are fully updated.
The temporary nature of the draft instrument allows the Government to apply biosecurity controls to European Union and rest-of-world goods entering Great Britain from Northern Ireland ahead of a longer-term approach.
I was asked about the long-term approach for the treatment of non-qualifying Northern Ireland goods. The border target operating model outlines that the SPS import controls on European Union and rest-of-world goods entering Great Britain from the island of Ireland will progress on a separate timeline. Further to the right hon. Gentleman’s point about businesses, we will continue to collaborate with the devolved Governments and all border stakeholders. We will support implementation readiness across vital points of entry to better protect UK biosecurity. We will communicate any additional updates well in advance to give traders time to prepare.
The UK Government will work closely with the devolved Governments to develop plans for the delivery of a long-term approach for the treatment of European Union and rest-of-world goods entering Great Britain from the island of Ireland. These plans will continue to preserve the unfettered movement of qualifying Northern Ireland goods into Great Britain, whether those goods are moving directly from Northern Ireland to Great Britain or from Great Britain to Northern Ireland via Ireland.
I was asked whether the measure will give effect to an Irish sea border. The short answer is no, because the legislation applies only to sanitary and phytosanitary controls on European Union and rest-of-world goods entering Great Britain from Northern Ireland. Qualifying Northern Ireland goods are not required to undergo any of the sanitary or phytosanitary controls implemented by this legislation and will continue to move freely within the internal market. This sharpens the competitive advantage of Northern Ireland traders moving qualifying Northern Ireland goods by more closely focusing the benefits of unfettered access on them. I reassure the hon. Member for Upper Bann that guidance will be provided with a sufficient lead-in time for traders; there was a similar concern about businesses.
The benefit of the regulations is that they will strengthen Great Britain’s biosecurity by delivering alignment in the treatment of European Union and rest-of-world goods entering Great Britain from the island of Ireland. It is right that goods from the European Union and the rest of the world are treated differently from goods moving within the UK’s internal market. Additionally, the consequential amendments to the definition of qualifying Northern Ireland goods in existing legislation will ensure that the updated definition, which focuses the benefits of unfettered access more squarely on Northern Ireland traders, applies to the direct and indirect movement of such goods into Great Britain. I thank all hon. Members for their contributions.
Question put and agreed to.
Resolved,
That the Committee has considered the draft Movement of Goods (Northern Ireland to Great Britain) (Animals, Feed and Food, Plant Health etc.) (Transitory Provision and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2024.
Sewage Discharges: South West
Emma Hardy Excerpts(1 month, 1 week ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
I thank the hon. Member for North Cornwall (Ben Maguire) for securing this important debate and everybody who has intervened. May I also express my support and sympathy for Finley? It is awful to hear about children becoming ill when they are just enjoying the things that we enjoyed so much as children. I am genuinely sorry to hear about that.
As I have said before, the amount of sewage in our waterways is unacceptable—clearly unacceptable. For too long, the level of pollution in our rivers, lakes and seas has been left unchecked. The south-west of England, with its 860 miles of coastline, is blessed with some of the most stunning waterways in the country, and it is of course vital that we protect these natural assets.
South West Water’s environmental performance is clearly not good enough. It continues to be rated as requiring improvement in the Environment Agency’s environmental performance assessment, and it has the highest rate of incidents on its network in the sector. So far, as the hon. Gentleman said, there have been 20 pollution incidents in his constituency, and they are clearly unacceptable.
Where companies have failed in their statutory duties to maintain their assets properly and protect the local environment, regulators will take appropriate enforcement action. The Environment Agency has informed me that 24 charges against South West Water currently await a court hearing, and many of them relate to discharges in North Cornwall. Of course, it is inappropriate for me to comment further on these while those proceedings are ongoing.
However, I am reassured that the new powers in the Water (Special Measures) Bill, including those relating to the monitoring of emergency overflows—I quite enjoyed the idea that we could call EDMs electronic dance music instead, and maybe that is what I will be thinking of in the future—will assist the Environment Agency with workload and efficiency relating to these types of offences. Two new dedicated inspection teams have been in place since October this year. Once officers are trained, the annual number of inspections in the region will double from the 335 they will carry out this year. I think that is positive action that has been taken by the Environment Agency.
Looking forward, South West Water is taking action to deliver necessary improvements. Subject to Ofwat’s final determinations, it is planning to invest about £750 million over the next five years to reduce sewage spills by 58% from current levels. It is also aiming to cut pollution incidents by 30%, and investing £140 million to reduce nutrient pollution in rivers. This investment will mean cleaner rivers, seas and lakes across the country—I am keeping an eye on the time this time, Madam Deputy Speaker.
On storm overflow guidance, in support of the forward investment to reduce pollution incidents, on 21 November the Government launched a consultation on updated information and guidance for the management and regulation of storm overflow infrastructure in England. A document will be published shortly afterwards to ensure that water companies have a clear forward framework to guide investment in storm overflow improvements.
The Government have also intervened to increase the transparency of pollution incidents to enable the public and the regulators to better hold water companies to account. We have included a duty in the Water (Special Measures) Bill to require all water and sewerage undertakers to produce annual pollution incident reduction plans, along with an accompanying implementation report. The chief executives will be personally responsible for approving both the pollution incident reduction plans and the accompanying document.
On the national storm overflows hub, the Government have legislated to require water companies to publish all discharge data from storm overflows in real time. The hon. Member for Honiton and Sidmouth (Richard Foord) mentioned the need to have one reliable source of data, which is incredibly important. Water UK launched its national storm overflows hub last Friday. If hon. Members have not had a chance to look at it, please do. On transparency, it is very good; in making us angry about pollution incidents, it is maybe not so good. However, we can see where companies are discharging all around the country, how long they have been discharging for and whether they are online or offline. For transparency, it is a huge step forward.
Anna Dixon (Shipley) (Lab)
Although I am not from the south-west, I have the beautiful River Wharfe flowing through my constituency of Shipley. Until now, we have been relying for transparency on Top of the Poops, which shows that there were over 2,450 overflows of sewage pollution last year. Does the Minister agree that these are national problems, and we really need to tackle this not only with South West Water, but with the likes of Yorkshire Water, to make sure these sewage outflows stop in future?
Emma Hardy
I agree entirely with my hon. Friend, and I commend her for coming and raising that point. I completely support her.
Richard Foord
I am aware of the new storm overflow hub that the Minister talks about. My point is that sometimes the data that the new hub reveals is different to the data that the water companies are revealing on their apps, such as the South West Water WaterFit app. That was discovered by a constituent of mine in relation to Sidmouth last weekend.
Emma Hardy
I am more than happy to look into any anomalies, so if Members want to send through details of where there seems to be a discrepancy in the data, I can pick that up.
South West Water has 156 bathing waters, and I am hoping that the hon. Member for North Cornwall will be pleased not only with our bathing water announcements on removing strict automatic de-designation, and removing fixed dates, but also that we are redefining the term “bathing” perhaps to include people who go surfing—I heard that he is interested in surfing. That will enable more people to enjoy the water environment. At the moment the term “bather” refers to people who swim, but we know that so many more people enjoy our beautiful water.
On 12 November DEFRA, jointly with the Welsh Government, announced a consultation on a package of potential reforms to bathing water regulations, and those changes will modernise the system to meet the needs of the public. The Government have been clear that there is no excuse for poor performance, and we will not look the other way while companies routinely fail to meet agreed standards. Water companies must take seriously their role in meeting public expectations and regulatory requirements, holding them to account when they fail.
Let me recap our three-stage approach to fixing the water industry. In the first week of the new Labour Government, the Secretary of State and I met water companies to secure agreement to amend their articles of association. Funding for vital infrastructure investment is ringfenced so that that money cannot go on bonuses—we saw evidence of that just last week. That money is for infrastructure improvement. There are new customers on the panels of water companies, as we are looking at changing the culture and giving customers a voice, and we are also strengthening protection and compensation for households.
The most significant increase in enforcement powers for regulators in a decade has come from the Water (Special Measures) Bill, which will arrive in the House for Second Reading before Christmas—I am sure I will see many faces in that debate. Those powers include providing Ofwat with powers to ban bonuses, enabling regulators to issue automatic and severe fines for wrongdoing, and there is also a duty on Ofwat to fulfil its environmental duties and legal requirements. The Bill will strengthen cost recovery powers to ensure that water companies bear the cost of enforcement activities.
The independent commission has been mentioned a few times, and it is needed to reform the whole water system. As we know, the system has developed incrementally since privatisation—I do not think anybody here thinks it is a system that we would wish to design in the way it has evolved. The call for public evidence will come in January, and as I have done before, I urge every Member across the House to get involved in that and find some evidence.
David Reed (Exmouth and Exeter East) (Con)
I thank the hon. Member for North Cornwall (Ben Maguire) for securing this important debate. Many of the points that have been raised this evening are issues we have all experienced, but I have found that South West Water’s communication and engagement with its customers has been atrocious over recent months. What more can the Government do to ensure that South West Water properly engages with its customers?
Emma Hardy
I apologise to the hon. Gentleman for having to rearrange our meeting yesterday as I was visiting a flooded area. We will get that meeting back in the diary quickly. He is right to raise that issue as it is one of the reasons why we want to put customer representation on the water boards, and give customers that stronger voice. I am more than happy to follow that issue up with the hon. Gentleman and see what more I can do to support him. It is incredibly important that customers are treated with the respect they deserve, and if water companies are not doing that, I am more than happy to follow it up.
Several hon. Members rose—
Emma Hardy
I have two minutes left so I will quickly finish if hon. Members do not mind.
The commission will be led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, supported by expert advisers, who will be announced shortly. It will be wide-ranging and report to the Government in the second quarter of 2025. The recommendations are intended to inform future legislation to deliver long-term reform to clean up pollution and return the sector to stability across England and Wales, including of course the south-west.
I am grateful for all the contributions to the debate. This is a really important issue. I reiterate the Government’s commitment to driving meaningful long-term improvement in the performance and culture of the water industry. We are committed to improving the health of our rivers, lakes and seas across England and the south-west. I look forward to working with all hon. Members who are interested in fulfilling that ambition with us.
Question put and agreed to.
Draft Persistent Organic Pollutants (Amendment) Regulations 2024
Emma Hardy Excerpts(1 month, 1 week ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Persistent Organic Pollutants (Amendment) Regulations 2024.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. This statutory instrument, which was laid before the House on 8 October, adds three additional substances—UV-328, dechlorane plus and methoxychlor —to the assimilated persistent organic pollutants, or POPs, regulations in response to the adoption of those three substances as POPs under the United Nations Stockholm convention. The UK is a party to the convention and is therefore obliged to reflect in UK law the listing of POPs under the convention.
In addition, the instrument makes a number of other technical changes to the annexes of the POPs regulation. Those include changes to waste concentration limits, specific exemptions and unintentional trace contaminant levels, or UTCs, for some POPs. In brief, the amendments update and clarify how some articles, substances or mixtures containing some POPs can be used, manufactured, placed on the market or disposed of. This legislative change is permitted by use of the powers available within articles 7, 15 and 18 of the assimilated EU regulation on POPs. We have worked with the devolved Administrations on this instrument.
POPs are substances recognised as particularly dangerous to the health of humans, wildlife and the environment. This instrument preserves and adds to the current regime for managing, restricting or eliminating POPs in the UK. Some of the regulations in this amending instrument are needed to implement the UK’s commitments under the United Nations Stockholm convention on POPs. The majority of amendments are informed by updates to the Stockholm convention and, in some cases, have come about following updates to the Basel convention guidance on the management of POPs waste, and following consultation.
Let me turn to the details of the instrument. At the 11th meeting of the conference of the parties, held last year, a decision was adopted to add three new substances called UV-328, dechlorane plus and methoxychlor to the list of substances for global elimination under the convention; this decision was communicated to parties by the UN depository in February 2024. This instrument adds those new POPs to the list of substances prohibited by law from being manufactured, placed on the market or used in Great Britain.
Secondly, the instrument provides some exemptions from the prohibitions by allowing the unintentional presence of the three substances at trace levels. These limits define the concentrations at which UV-328, dechlorane plus and metho—methox—
Jerome Mayhew (Broadland and Fakenham) (Con)
Will the Minister repeat that, please?
Emma Hardy
I will do my best—by the end of this, I’ll have nailed it.
These limits define the concentrations at which UV-328, dechlorane plus—I got that one—and methoxychlor can lawfully be found in a substance, article or mixture, where they are unintentionally present and found in minimal amounts. Dechlorane plus and UV-328 will also be listed alongside time-limited exemptions for their continued use in specific circumstances. These exemptions are available following agreement by the Stockholm convention’s conference of the parties.
This instrument will make a number of further changes to annex 1 of the POPs regulation, including the addition of a UTC level for two POPs already prohibited in Great Britain. It will also make amendments to the UTC limits and specific exemptions listed for the substance perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, including a provision to phase out or remove exemptions that are no longer required, and the tightening of the requirements regarding a specific exemption for use of PFOA in polytetra-fluoroethylene, or PTFE, micropowders.
Annexes 4 and 5 of the POPs regulation relate to the treatment of waste containing POPs. This instrument will add or update waste concentration limits for several POPs. In practice, those limits specify the concentration at which waste containing POPs must be diverted from landfill to high-temperature incineration or other appropriate disposals, to ensure that the POPs content is appropriately destroyed. Importantly, that includes the introduction of a limit specifically targeted at firefighting foam mixtures containing PFOA—a substance in the poly and perfluoroalkyl, or PFAS, group of chemicals—to ensure the environmentally sound disposal of any remaining stockpiles of these foams.
Finally, this instrument will update the maximum concentration limits for a number of POPs and add decabromodiphenyl ether, or decaBDE, a brominated flame retardant, to the list of polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, in annex 5 of the POPs regulation. Maximum concentration limits set the threshold at which waste handlers can apply to permanently store certain wastes in designated landfill for hazardous waste or salt mines, where it can be demonstrated that destruction is not the environmentally preferred option. The instrument will also add two new European waste catalogue codes to this provision: one for fly ash from peat and untreated wood, and one for soil and stones.
Policy development informing this instrument was subject to a public consultation in 2023. In that consultation, we also stated our intention to prohibit the three new substances once they were adopted for listing under the convention, to implement our international obligations. There have been various opportunities, at both domestic and convention level, for UK stakeholders to submit information regarding the potential prohibition of UV-328, dechlorane plus and methoxychlor, and their potential adoption for global elimination under the Stockholm convention. A de minimis impact assessment was carried out, which concluded that there is no indication that the amendments in the instrument are expected to have an impact on businesses beyond one-off familiarisation costs, and that this instrument is not expected to disproportionally burden small businesses.
The Environment Agency is the delivery body for the POPs regulation for England; Natural Resources Wales and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency are the delivery bodies for Wales and Scotland respectively. They have been involved in the development of this instrument and have no concerns about implementation or resources. The territorial extent and application of the instrument is Great Britain. Under the Windsor frame-work, the EU POPs regulation applies in Northern Ireland. The devolved Administrations in Wales and Scotland were engaged in the development of the instrument and have consented to its being made on a GB-wide basis.
In conclusion, I emphasise that the measures in this instrument are needed, in part, to implement the requirements of the Stockholm convention by adding new POPs UV-328, dechlorane plus and methoxychlor to the list of substances prohibited in Great Britain by law. Other amendments included in the instrument ensure that the POPs regulation is adapted to scientific and technical progress in our understanding and treatment of POPs. The draft regulations will allow the UK to continue to implement the Stockholm convention requirements to prohibit, eliminate or restrict the production and use of POPs. I commend the draft regulations to the House.
Emma Hardy
I thank the hon. Member for Epping Forest (Dr Hudson) for his contribution and look forward to seeing him in many debates in future. I commend him on having been able to pronounce the names of the chemicals first time around.
I am pleased that the hon. Gentleman has raised the issue of forever chemicals, which concerns me; in time, I imagine that we will be discussing those in more detail. Obviously, we have outlined today all the details of what this particular statutory instrument relates to, but I definitely agree with his wider point on sharing concerns about POPs and forever chemicals. I hope that we can work together on that because the dangers and concerns about those chemicals are coming more to light as we move forward.
I will not detain the Committee for longer than necessary. As I have outlined, the instrument introduces changes to ensure that the UK can continue to implement its obligations under the Stockholm convention, which aims to protect the health of populations, wildlife and the environment from harmful persistent organic pollutants. I commend the draft regulations to the House.
Question put and agreed to.
International Treaty on Plastic Pollution
Emma Hardy Excerpts(1 month, 1 week ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
Plastic pollution is one of the greatest environmental challenges that the planet faces. The world produces 400 million tonnes of plastic waste each year. Scientists predict that there will be a threefold increase in the amount of plastic entering the ocean between 2016 and 2040. A global agreement on plastic pollution is urgently needed to co-ordinate a response to this complex issue.
United Nations Environment Assembly resolution 5/14 initiated discussions to agree an internationally legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. An intergovernmental negotiating committee was established with the ambition of completing its work by the end of 2024. The fifth and final planned meeting of the intergovernmental negotiating committee is being held in Busan, in the Republic of Korea, from 25 November to 1 December 2024.
The draft treaty under discussion includes provisions on production and consumption of primary plastic polymers; problematic products and chemicals of concern in plastic; product design; waste management; emissions and releases of plastic into the environment; existing plastic pollution; just transition; financial assistance, technology transfer and capacity building; implementation and compliance; national plans; reporting; effectiveness evaluation and monitoring; awareness raising, education and research; health and final provisions on processes necessary for the establishment of an international treaty.
The Government have an ambition to catalyse the transition to a circular economy and the treaty is one of the key levers available to us to achieve the systems-wide changes needed to make that a reality.
Plastic waste has for too long littered our streets, polluted Britan’s waterways and threatened our wildlife. This Government are committed to cleaning up Britain and cracking down on plastic waste. We will roll out extended producer responsibility to incentivise businesses to cut plastic packaging and the deposit return scheme to incentivise consumers to recycle.
The UK is an active member of the High Ambition Coalition, a group of 67 countries seeking an ambitious treaty that will end plastic pollution by 2040 by taking a full-lifecycle approach. At INC-5 we will continue to take a leadership role and work closely with other countries to push for agreement of an ambitious and effective treaty in Busan. The science tells us that in order to be effective we must take action at all stages of the plastics lifecycle, from production to waste management and emissions.
In developing the UK negotiating approach, we have worked closely with the devolved Governments and UK overseas territories, as well as a wide range of stakeholders, including producers, manufacturers, retailers, eNGOs and academia. On 6 November, I hosted a roundtable on the treaty for leading businesses and financial organisations, ahead of His Majesty’s international sustainability reception. Participants of the roundtable agreed a statement calling for an ambitious treaty that will create a more harmonised regulatory environment and a level playing field.
The UK remains committed to securing an agreement in Busan as a critical step towards ensuring the global action needed to end plastic pollution by 2040.
[HCWS247]
Global Plastics Treaty
Emma Hardy Excerpts(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairwomanship, Dr Huq. It is lovely to see you here. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Dr Opher) for securing this really important debate, and Members on both sides of the House for their valuable contributions. This is an important topic that people really care about.
This week, I had the most effective lobbying I have ever had; I was lobbied by 12 primary school children who came with a message in a bottle—they literally brought a bottle with a message and a petition from Greenpeace calling on me to do everything I can to secure plastic reduction. They too had taken part in the Great Plastic Count, and even the youngest, who was only seven years old, told me about all the plastic that they had. I just wanted to give a special mention to those children from Bonner primary school. This is Parliament Week, when we encourage young people to get involved in politics and understand how Parliament works, so it is a good time to engage with everybody across the country on this important issue.
Sarah Dyke
Carymoor Environmental Trust in my constituency runs fantastic plastic sessions and has educated over 58,000 children in Somerset about the environmental impact of plastic and about ways to avoid single-use plastic. Does the Minister agree that the best way to avoid single-use plastic is to deliver a global plastics treaty that meaningfully cuts plastic production?
Emma Hardy
Absolutely. The global plastics treaty, which I will talk about in more detail, is crucial, and it is really encouraging to see how everybody is getting behind it.
Karl Turner (Kingston upon Hull East) (Lab)
The Minister talked about being lobbied by children, and we all know how effective kids are when they lobby their MPs. I also want to mention the education work that The Deep in Hull does with children on plastic pollution, which is impressive, to put it mildly. On the topic of education, the University of Hull has recently carried out research showing that 8 million tonnes of plastic ends up in the sea, making up 80% of the debris in our oceans.
Emma Hardy
I thank my hon. Friend. I am not meant to show bias, but The Deep is fantastic; we should all go and visit it. My hon. Friend is absolutely right—it does incredible work in educating children about ocean conservation, nature and plastic use. It is an amazing asset for the constituency I represent, and its work is highly regarded internationally.
I move on to talk about the treaty in more detail. After two years of negotiations, we are approaching the fifth and final scheduled meeting of the intergovernmental negotiating committee, which starts on 25 November. The executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, Inger Andersen, has referred to this treaty as
“the most significant environmental multilateral deal since the Paris accord.”
We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to agree an ambitious treaty to end plastic pollution, and that is why an agreement at Busan this year is critical. If we are to stop plastic entering the environment at an increasing rate, we need a treaty that provides actions at all stages of the plastics life cycle. We are proud, as a country, to be a founding member of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution. That coalition includes more than 60 countries, and calls for an ambitious and effective treaty that will end plastic pollution by 2040. In September, the High Ambition Coalition published a ministerial statement calling for an ambitious treaty that covers the full life cycle of plastics, including design, production, consumption and end of life. Then, on 24 September, the UK signed the Bridge to Busan declaration, which makes the case for an ambitious treaty that includes upstream measures to ensure the sustainable consumption and production of primary plastic polymers.
It is critical that the new treaty on plastic pollution takes action across the entire life cycle, including production and consumption. The evidence is clear that we cannot solve the problem of plastic pollution unless we take action at every stage. Global plastic production is projected to double by 2050, reaching 800 million metric tonnes annually. Evidence shows that on current trends, waste management infrastructure will not be able to keep up with the pace of plastic production and consumption, and the level of mismanaged plastic waste will continue to rise. That is why the UK supports binding provisions in the treaty to reduce the production and consumption of primary plastic polymers to sustainable levels, and to enable the transition to a circular economy.
To end plastic pollution, we need all actors in the plastics value chain to act. That includes national and local governments, and the private and financial sectors. We need to bring everyone along with us. That includes the marginalised, undervalued and unrecognised waste pickers, most of whom are women. They handle more than half the world’s plastic waste for recycling, so it is important that their voices are heard.
We have partnered with the Ocean Plastics Leadership Network to run the UK treaty dialogues ahead of each round of negotiations. The dialogues include actors at all stages of the plastic value chains, as well as from academia and environmental non-governmental organisations. Those dialogues have helped us understand the views on the treaty to inform our approach to negotiations.
On 6 November, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and I, in conjunction with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, hosted a plastic pollution treaty roundtable for business leaders, retailers and financial institutions. We discussed the importance of agreeing an ambitious, legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution. Participants also signed a statement setting out the key elements that the treaty must include in order to end plastic pollution by 2040.
Many businesses and organisations are leading the way already. An example of this is the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty, which has been joined by more than 85 organisations, including major global businesses, financial institutions and NGOs. The UK scientific community is also world-leading and playing an active role in ensuring that the treaty negotiations are grounded in science, as well as developing the solutions and innovations that will help us take action on this issue.
However, we also recognise the importance of mobilising support for countries most in need, in order to implement the treaty, and this is an essential element of its effectiveness. We can end plastic pollution only through globally co-ordinated action and by mobilising and aligning financial flows from all sources, including all actors and stakeholders across the full plastics value chain at both the global and the local stage. The UK supports the use of the Global Environmental Facility to support the implementation of the treaty. It has established a track record of supporting environmental agreements on climate and biodiversity.
Emma Hardy
I have to say that this is one thing on which I believe there is cross-party consensus. There seems to be an awful lot of support for the treaty, and I hope that that unity continues, especially as we are going into incredibly difficult negotiations. It is really important for us as a country to stand united behind the treaty and what it means if we are not only to seek an agreement, but to ensure that it is fulfilled. I would like to hope that everyone agrees on how important this is, but I am an optimist—what can I say?
The UK is already the largest donor to the Global Plastic Action Partnership, which brings together Governments, businesses and civil society to tackle plastic pollution and increase investment in circular economy approaches in countries eligible for official development assistance.
I was asked what we are doing as a country to reduce plastic packaging. We plan to lay regulations on a deposit return scheme for drinks containers in England and Northern Ireland before Parliament in late 2024—hopefully before Christmas—for them to come into force in early 2025, assuming that parliamentary time allows. The planned launch date of the scheme is October 2027. If we are going to argue what other countries need to do, it is important that we are seen to be taking action ourselves. I really appreciate that companies—my hon. Friend the Member for Stratford and Bow (Uma Kumaran) mentioned one in her constituency—are promoting innovative and more sustainable solutions to plastic pollution, especially from single-use plastics.
Plastic pollution is one of the greatest long-term global challenges we face, and the UK is committed to working with the chair and members of the intergovernmental negotiating committee to reach an agreement. All parties are committed to seeking to conclude negotiations on the treaty by the end of 2024. We need to secure a robust, ambitious treaty to accelerate action at pace and scale, and that is what the UK team will be pushing for in Busan.
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud again for securing the debate, and I thank everyone else who has supported it.
Question put and agreed to.