Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords]

Sarah Bool Excerpts

2nd reading
Monday 16th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Bool (South Northamptonshire) (Con)]

It is absolutely right and correct that we debate these measures to improve the water industry. In the light of continued concerns over Thames Water and Southern Water, action must be taken to protect our water service.

It is important to take a step back and put the debate into its proper context. We must appreciate that most of the UK has a combined sewerage system, meaning that both rainwater and wastewater are carried in the same pipes, before wastewater goes into a sewage treatment plant. If, as in recent weeks, we have exceedingly heavy rainfall, capacity can be exceeded and water companies are allowed to spill untreated wastewater into rivers and seas—otherwise, there is a risk of flooding people’s homes with waste. There has been an issue of companies doing that when there has been no rain—known as a dry spill—which is not acceptable.

Although it has been miscommunicated by other parties and by the Secretary of State, the previous Government took the vital step of requiring storm overflows to be monitored. As hon. Friends have said, that monitoring increased from 7% in 2010 to 100% in 2024. It has enabled discussions and plans to fix the poor behaviour of the water companies. The overflows were always happening, but the previous Government’s monitoring caught the poor behaviour and highlighted the action that was required.

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

Will the hon. Lady give way?

[Joe Morris (Hexham) (Lab)]

Will the hon. Lady give way?

[Sarah Bool]

Not just yet.

No monitoring does not mean that water is clean, as the Secretary of State seemed to suggest. One must be faithful to the facts.

We will support this Bill’s Second Reading because it includes many measures that the previous Government established—for example, companies that pollute the environment can be hit with unlimited fines, and water bosses can be banned from receiving bonuses if their companies commit serious criminal breaches. However, some measures need to be amended, including to maintain the previous Government’s water restoration fund. Why has that not been continued?

We must ensure that we focus on our water infrastructure, which is largely out of date. Poor maintenance causes leakages, and poor capacity leads to sewage overflows. Tackling those problems will require investment and innovation. Ofwat must use its powers more effectively to better monitor performance and enforce standards in a timely fashion. Although I acknowledge the Bill’s focus on penalties for water companies, we must ensure that incentives for investment and change are in place for the years to come.

Rural Affairs

Sarah Bool Excerpts

Monday 11th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Bool (South Northamptonshire) (Con)]

Over 52,000 hectares of the land in South Northamptonshire is agricultural—equivalent to more than 35,000 football pitches—so rural issues are at the heart of my constituency. I will focus on three matters: the death of the family farm, flooding and solar farms.

The Chancellor’s agricultural property relief reforms have caused huge distress among the farming community in South Northamptonshire. Last week, I joined fellow Opposition MPs to deliver a letter to Downing Street urging her to rethink this disastrous policy. However, we must not forget the other pernicious elements of the Budget. Increasing tax on fertilisers—the carbon tax—to meet net zero targets will force farmers to produce less food. We will therefore have to import it from a country that does not have such a tax, with all the resulting carbon impact. It is unbelievably counterintuitive. The Government will also now class double-cab pick-ups—the workhorse vehicle of the countryside—as company cars for tax purposes. This change could increase the tax burden on the working people of the countryside by 211%. I am staggered that Labour can say that food security is national security while introducing a smorgasbord of attacks on farmers.

Members may also be aware that in September parts of Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire suffered catastrophic flooding. The village of Grendon in my constituency was flooded in a matter of minutes at 9 o’clock on a Sunday evening, resulting in the entire downstairs floors of some properties being ruined, cars being destroyed and priceless memories being lost. Residents believe this may have occurred due to insufficient dredging of a nearby brook, such that when the heavy rainfall occurred upstream, the water built up like a dam that burst and wreaked havoc. Will the Secretary of State and the Minister commit to exploring how extensively the Environment Agency dredges small brooks, to prevent such catastrophes from recurring?

On solar farms, Easton Maudit in my constituency would be enveloped on three sides by the proposed 2,000-acre Green Hill solar farm, with once-beautiful English countryside reduced to grey sheets of plastic and glass. I am not against more renewable energy, but to have a solar farm on such a scale totally enveloping an idyllic rural village, while warehouses on the M1 sit without solar panels on their roofs, seems totally illogical to me and my constituents. Our rural towns and villages may be smaller in size and less visible than our urban cities, but their residents are just as important and we must protect them.

Oral Answers to Questions

Sarah Bool Excerpts

Thursday 12th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mary Creagh]

I cannot speak for the Secretary of State, but I am sure that all Ministers will fight over any invitation to visit my hon. Friend’s gorgeous constituency. We are announcing a review into water. I urge him to participate and feed into that review. The sort of innovative model that brings partners together is certainly one we will be looking at.

[Sarah Bool (South Northamptonshire) (Con)]

3. What steps he is taking to support British food producers.

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

I congratulate the hon. Lady on her achievement in the election.

The Labour Government will restore stability and confidence in the sector, introducing a new deal for farmers to boost rural economic growth and strengthen food security alongside nature’s recovery. We will make the supply chain work more fairly, back British produce, and cut energy prices through GB Energy. We are continuing the roll-out of the sustainable farming initiative, and will optimise schemes and grants.

[Sarah Bool]

In recent weeks, I have had the pleasure of meeting farmers in Evenley at Stowe Heights farm and Barnowl farm, two of the amazing producers in South Northamptonshire. However, they and many other farmers are gravely concerned by media reports that the farming budget will be cut by £100 million. Can the Minister confirm that that is not the case, and that support for local producers is to be maintained?

[Emma Hardy]

Those sound like wonderful farms to visit—I might even be tempted to pop in and see them myself. Our farming Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridge (Daniel Zeichner), has done an incredible job, going up and down the country visiting many farmers and talking to stakeholders. As I am sure the hon. Lady will understand, anything involving the Budget is part of the spending review process, and answers will be given in due course.