Environmental Protection

James Naish Excerpts

Tuesday 21st January 2025 Commons Chamber

[James Naish (Rushcliffe) (Lab)]

I wholeheartedly welcome the Government’s commitment to introducing a deposit return scheme. The policy is long overdue and will help us to tackle the rising tide of waste and pollution that has blighted our countryside and our environment for too long.

It is a source of great pride to represent Rushcliffe in this House. The borough of Rushcliffe boasts the highest recycling rate in Nottinghamshire, but we know that we can, and must, go further. My constituents care deeply about the environment, and they rightly expect this Government to show ambition and leadership in addressing the waste crisis. The Conservatives first promised a deposit return scheme around 2018—more than six years ago—yet there is nothing to show for it. Their failure has sadly meant that countless plastic bottles, cans and other types of packaging have continued to pollute our streets, rivers and seas.

I was fortunate enough to work and spend time in Ireland for 18 months prior to the general election, so I have seen at first hand the deposit return scheme there. In the first few months after implementation, the number of units recycled per month grew from around 2 million to more than 100 million; 630 million containers were recycled in the first 10 months of operation. I hope that we could achieve similar rates of uptake in the UK.

By bringing forward a deposit return scheme that works by 2027, not just for the environment but for businesses, consumers and local authorities, this Labour Government will finally deliver what the country needs. We must, as we promised in our manifesto, empower individuals to play their part in a circular economy. For that reason, I welcome the Government’s recent announcement about tighter rules on incinerators. I have written to the Secretary of State about a proposal for an incinerator at Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in my constituency. The proposal is nearing the end of its planning permission. For many years, local campaign groups have called out their concerns about that project, and I look forward to the Secretary of State’s reply to my letter in due course.

The benefits of this scheme are clear. It will collect, recycle and reuse valuable materials that would otherwise end up as waste. It will preserve our countryside, protect wildlife and restore pride in our local communities. Significantly, it will drive economic growth, creating 21,000 green jobs and unlocking more than £10 billion of investment in recycling infrastructure over the next decade. The consequences of inaction—litter-strewn streets, polluted waterways and increased fly-tipping—are all too visible. The deposit return scheme represents a common-sense solution that not only cleans up our environment, but fosters a culture of sustainability and personal responsibility.

With this policy, we are not only cleaning up our environment, but charting a course towards a cleaner, greener and more sustainable future. I wholeheartedly support this scheme, and urge all Members to do the same.

Foot and Mouth Disease

James Naish Excerpts

Wednesday 15th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Daniel Zeichner]

I welcome the hon. Gentleman’s appreciation of the complexities that we face, but it is in everyone’s interests to ensure that we stop this, and we are all co-operating closely. The veterinary officials have a very good network, and they are working closely together. No one wants this to extend further.

[James Naish (Rushcliffe) (Lab)]

As the son of a farmer, I remember only too well waking up in the early morning and going downstairs to listen to Radio 4 in silence with my family as we heard about more and more animals being culled during the crisis in the early 2000s. What steps are being taken to engage the National Farmers Union and other trade bodies to prepare for any outbreak here in the UK?

[Daniel Zeichner]

I thank my hon. Friend for his concern and his recollections. Yesterday we held a roundtable to discuss the threat posed by bluetongue, and we are in constant dialogue with all those who have direct interests and expertise. We will be working in lockstep.

Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords]

James Naish Excerpts

2nd reading
Monday 16th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[James Naish (Rushcliffe) (Lab)]

Thank you, Madame Deputy Speaker, for inviting me to speak. Like many colleagues, I stood on the banks of my local river, the River Trent, during the general election campaign, and looking out over the murky waters, I promised residents that the next Government would change a broken system. This broken system has enabled our water quality to drop to the point where only 14% of rivers and lakes in England have a good ecological status, according to the Environment Agency. Since being elected, hundreds of residents of Rushcliffe have contacted me to say they are concerned about our broken water and sewerage system, describing it as symptomatic of a broken Britain. I am therefore pleased that today’s Bill marks the start of a significant turnaround process for the health of our nation’s water.

Local to Rushcliffe, the data has been consistently going in the wrong direction. There were 471 sewage dumps in my constituency in 2022, and this more than doubled to 958 sewage dumps in 2023. The absolute number of sewage dumps is of course a crude indicator, but, sadly, the cumulative impact has also grown from 3,733 hours in 2022 to 10,774 hours in 2023. The direct impact on Rushcliffe residents is palpable, especially in villages such as East Leake that are susceptible to flooding, which frequently includes rural sewage. I welcome the works that Severn Trent is starting to take by upgrading a nearby treatment works, doubling processing capacity by the end of March 2025. However, for many residents this investment is far too late and should have been made years ago, in an era when water companies were creaming off profits and failing to act as true and honest custodians of the national water network.

To that end, I encourage the Secretary of State and his team to think carefully about who we want to be the future custodians of our water network. If water and sewage companies go under, I believe we—the state—should always be prepared to step in to offer a genuine public alternative to hedge funds and the like. As with rail and energy, we should be prepared to start a process whereby the state once again offers to play a more active role in running basic universal services, challenging private sector organisations that have happily paid out dividends while allowing 3 billion litres of water every day to be lost through leaky pipes.

Fundamentally, I believe it is the right of each and every one of us to be able to enjoy our beautiful rivers, lakes and seas without the fear of getting sick. So on behalf of my constituents in Rushcliffe, I welcome the many positive measures in this Bill as it seeks to enhance enforcement powers and to start cleaning up our water for good. Moving forwards, there should be no more sticking plaster fixes, because, quite frankly, the very least that my constituents deserve is a water and sewage system fit for the 21st century.