Water White Paper

Jonathan Brash Excerpts

Wednesday 21st January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Emma Reynolds]

I would not like to get involved in Northern Irish politics—that is not for me to do. I can reassure the hon. Lady, however, that we are working in close co-operation with all the devolved Governments. I met Andrew Muir at the Oxford farming conference, and we discussed water. Early last year, at an interministerial group meeting, we discussed different sources of pollution and how the different devolved Governments are dealing with them.

[Mr Jonathan Brash (Hartlepool) (Lab)]

Hartlepool is a coastal community home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the north-east, but they are too often polluted by water companies to the detriment of my constituents. I absolutely agree with the Secretary of State that this Government have done more in 18 months to fix this mess than any other Government in history, but does she agree that once we have forced these failed water companies to get their house in order and clean up our waters, we should get them out of the ownership of foreign nationals, hedge funds and private equity, and reverse the worst privatisation in British history?

[Emma Reynolds]

I would like to see longer-term investors, such as pension funds—I am a former Pensions Minister—being more attracted to invest in the water system. We need a more stable, long-term regulatory approach to get more of those investors involved. I met the Maple Eight when I was in Toronto last year, and there is great interest in investing in our water system, but we have to get the regulatory system right first.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jonathan Brash Excerpts

Thursday 20th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Daniel Zeichner]

The hon. Gentleman always speaks with passion about his constituents, and I absolutely understand those concerns. He is right to say that the schemes we inherited did not reward those areas as well as they should. That is why in our announcement a few weeks ago, we increased the higher level stewardship payments by £30 million, which will be of particular advantage to people in his area. I agree with him, and the schemes we inherited were not good enough. That is why we are revising them.

[Mr Jonathan Brash (Hartlepool) (Lab)]

4. What steps his Department is taking to improve flood defences in Hartlepool.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)]

After 14 years, the Conservatives left our flood defence assets in the worst condition on record. That is why this Government are investing a record £2.65 billion over two years to improve flood resilience. We will build, maintain and repair flood defences to better protect 52,000 properties by March 2026.

[Mr Brash]

The flood defences in and around Greatham creek in my constituency of Hartlepool date back to the 19th century and are coming to the end of their usable life. I am campaigning to secure the funding we need to realise the Environment Agency’s ambitious multimillion-pound plan to upgrade these defences and create a new habitat that extends biodiversity in that area. Will the Minister commit to delivering that funding for Hartlepool?

[Emma Hardy]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue and for his recent letter. He is right to be angry about the poor state of his flood defences, and I am sure his constituents value him as a local champion, raising that in the Chamber. To rebuild after Conservative failure, we have had to urgently move £36 million into maintenance funding this year. As I have mentioned, the projects to receive funding in the next financial year are being agreed and will be announced shortly.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jonathan Brash Excerpts

Thursday 14th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Daniel Zeichner]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her support for the transition that we are undertaking. In fact, I was speaking to Martin Lines from the Nature Friendly Farming Network only yesterday evening. He and many of his colleagues are delighted with the transition that we are making, but, as ever, the Greens’ grasp of economics is limited.

[Mr Jonathan Brash (Hartlepool) (Lab)]

9. What recent progress his Department has made on investigating crustacean die-offs along the north-east coast in 2021.

[The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs (Daniel Zeichner)]

An independent expert panel reviewed the 2021 crustacean die-off event and published its findings last year. It could not identify a clear single cause for the crustacean mortality. The Government are keeping the situation under review and a coastal health programme was recently established to improve coastal monitoring.

[Mr Brash]

The die-off on the north-east coast has devastated an industry that has served Hartlepool for generations. Fishermen, such as my constituent Stan Rennie, and their families want three things: support in the face of their livelihoods being decimated; a plan to repopulate and rebuild their industry; and, finally, answers to how this happened in the first place. Will the Minister meet me and fishermen from Hartlepool to discuss a way forward on this issue?

[Daniel Zeichner]

My hon. Friend is a passionate defender of his community. I extend my sympathy to all those who find themselves under pressure when these kind of events happen and I would be very happy to meet him to discuss the matter further.

Independent Water Commission

Jonathan Brash Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Steve Reed]

There has been a wide failure in the regulation of water. That is why I have asked Sir Jon Cunliffe, as part of the commission that he is leading, to look at regulation and the roles of the regulators—not just one of them—to ensure that we have a system that is fit for purpose. We are ensuring that, outside the commission, there is mandatory monitoring of what is coming out of all overflows, including emergency overflows. In the Water (Special Measures) Bill, water chief executives will be required to be open and transparent about the extent of pollution; otherwise, they will face personal criminal liability for the first time.

[Mr Jonathan Brash (Hartlepool) (Lab)]

In 2024 alone, Hartlepool’s beautiful coastline has been marred by 49 separate incidents of sewage being discharged into our sea. At the same time, the water companies are making billions in profit. Whatever the outcome of the commission, can the Secretary of State commit to putting people in Hartlepool and across the country ahead of profit in cleaning up this mess?

[Steve Reed]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right; this sewage scandal affects the entire country, including his constituency of Hartlepool. It is important that this commission focuses on ensuring that consumers and the environment come first, and that we have a water sector that serves their interests primarily. I hope that he will make his points directly to the commission, because they will value hearing from him.