Water (Special Measures) Bill [ Lords ] (Third sitting)

Debate between Jerome Mayhew and Neil Hudson

Committee stage
Tuesday 14th January 2025 Public Bill Committees

[Dr Hudson]

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time. The proposed new clause would introduce a legal requirement that money collected from water companies from financial penalties imposed by the Bill are legally required to be used by the water restoration fund. As with much of the Bill, the Government intend to build on the work begun by the previous Conservative Government. The water restoration fund is one pillar of that record that the Government would do well to advance. I look forward to hearing from the Minister what they plan to do with that excellent fund, which needs to be reinstated and progressed.

I have personally championed the water restoration fund, not only in my present role as shadow DEFRA Minister, but before that as a member of the Conservative Environment Network. I pay tribute to that body for its successful campaigning, which in led no small part to the previous Conservative Government introducing the excellent water restoration fund. In 2022, I was proud to sign the Conservative Environment Network’s “Changing course: a manifesto for our rivers, seas and waterways”. That was its first public declaration, setting out the ambition to introduce this policy recommendation.

In addition to the Conservative Environment Network, I would like to namecheck and thank the good folk of Wildlife and Countryside Link for their support and campaigning for the fund and this proposed new clause. I also pay tribute to the Angling Trust for the discussion we had on this matter, and give a big shout-out to our former colleague Philip Dunne, who was respected across the House. The former MP for Ludlow and Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee made assiduous efforts to see this fund introduced, as well as wider measures to protect our precious waterways.

As we have discussed with the Minister, there is considerable consensus on what we can do collectively and on a cross-party basis to protect and nurture our watercourses and waterways. I hope the Government will take forward and continue the water restoration fund because it is pivotal to what we are trying to do.

[Jerome Mayhew]

I have a slightly cheeky intervention. Is the shadow Minister aware that there is a debate in Westminster Hall at 4 o’clock tomorrow led by yours truly on nature-based solutions for farmland flooding? The fund is central to improving the situation.

--- Later in debate ---

[Dr Hudson]

Can I just say that the previous Government went and looked for the problem, and found the scale of it? We all agree that it is a huge problem that needs to be addressed; we are not downplaying the scale of it. We collected data and were brave enough to say, “There is a problem.”

Labour Members threw a lot of things at us during the passage of the landmark Environment Act 2021. They have made misleading comments about Conservative Members of Parliament, but we were the party that grasped the nettle and said, “There is a problem, and we need to look at it.” A lot of the amendments that were tabled to try to scupper the Environment Act were completely uncosted and would have cost taxpayers lots and lots of money. We tried to introduce practical, cost-effective, reasonable measures to address the scale of the problem that we unearthed.

[Jerome Mayhew]

The shadow Minister is right that a lot of the supposed solutions were uncosted and had an impractical timeframe. One that springs to mind was the Liberal Democrat amendment that was costed: there was a tax that was supposed to pay for the improvements to water quality. Does he agree that, on a basic calculation, it would have taken more than 300 years to pay it back?

[Dr Hudson]

I agree. Amendments are easy to table with a view to obstruction and making political points, and those were not affordable and would not have been deliverable in any realistic timescale. Governments have to make realistic, cost-effective decisions that honour the taxpayer, and they have to be clear with the public about how such measures will be implemented and paid for.

If the Government do not support our amendment, I hope they will clarify what steps they are taking to protect customers from the knock-on impact of fines. Unfortunately, in many industries when costs are imposed, customers sometimes pay higher prices. With the new clause, we want to ensure that when we rightly impose financial penalties on water companies there are no unintended consequences for the consumers we aim to defend by imposing the financial penalties in the first place. With that in mind, and given the aim of accountability, we sincerely hope the Government will support the new clause. Ultimately, we aim to press it to a vote.

Ordered, That the debate be now adjourned.—(Jeff Smith.)

Water (Special Measures) Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)

Debate between Jerome Mayhew and Neil Hudson

Committee stage
Thursday 9th January 2025 Public Bill Committees

[Jerome Mayhew]

I understand that this will not be put to a vote, but I want to add my support for nature-based solutions and to draw to the Minister’s attention an experience I had with Anglian Water. It had a village-sized water treatment works just over the border in north Norfolk at a place called Langham. The chalk stream that the sewage works discharge into is the Stiffkey, which runs through my constituency and then just over the border. To its great credit, Anglian Water co-operated with a local landowner and created a wetland. I would have thought it would be the easiest thing in the world to have the treated sewage discharge into a secondary processing unit—it was, from memory, about two acres in size, so it is quite a large wetland with meandering going through it—and then exit back into the Stiffkey.

The Environment Agency eventually allowed this to take place, but it is worth highlighting that its initial response was, “No, you have to apply for a new licence to discharge effluent into the river.” That was because it was coming not from the pipe, which was semi-treated, but from a new entrance into the stream via the wetland. The “computer said no” attitude of the Environment Agency was quite extraordinary, because it was not going to get any worse with the discharged water going through a wetland before entering the stream, and yet it took several months. It was a very significant constraint, and it called into question whether or not the project would go ahead.

I would be grateful if the Minister could take that away with her and ensure that the Environment Agency sees the development of wetlands as a really positive step forward. I know its senior leadership does, but that message should go right through the organisation so that the time and delay of bureaucracy, and the requirement for new applications for licences, do not get in the way of what we all wish to achieve.

[Dr Hudson]

I rise to speak to new clause 5, tabled by His Majesty’s loyal Opposition. We are talking about practical nature-based solutions to flood risk. I welcome the comments made about nature-based solutions, not least from the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale, who talks passionately about the importance of nature-based solutions for flood mitigation and that side of things.

I noted that during the election campaign, he waxed lyrical about Windermere, which is a beautiful part of his constituency. I know that he was an active participant with the leader of his party in water sports as well, although I note that he was a lot more competent at staying on the paddleboard than his leader. I welcome his comments on the importance of protecting and preserving our water spaces, but very much encourage the Government to facilitate landowners, land managers and farmers to do nature-based solutions to mitigate flood issues.

New clause 5 would try to ensure that water companies consider practical, nature-based solutions to flood risk. That would also make water companies try to improve water quality and nature restoration in their catchment areas, so there would be a double win. In Government, we Conservatives set specific, legally binding targets to improve water quality and availability in order to try to reduce nutrient pollution and sediment pollution from agriculture to the water environment. We also set out how to reduce water pollution in our environmental improvement plan. Nature recovery was carried out under us, and opportunities to do that with nature-based solutions should be seized on as we move forward.