Oral Answers to Questions

Sarah Olney Excerpts

Wednesday 30th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Final question: Sarah Olney.

[Sarah Olney (Richmond Park) (LD)]

Q12. Last Friday, it emerged that there had been an oil spill in Beverley Brook, a river that flows through Richmond Park to the Thames. Black waste oil and iridescence can now be seen along 13 km of the watercourse, posing a serious threat to fish and local wildlife. The Environment Agency is investigating, but it is understaffed and underfunded while also battling water companies over sewage discharge. Will the Government commit to strengthening the powers of the Office for Environmental Protection, as the Lib Dems tried to do through the passage of the Environment Bill, so that it can hold the Government and other public authorities to account over environmental damage in the same way that the European Commission was able to?

[The Prime Minister]

I know what is behind the hon. Member’s question: a desire to return to the jurisdiction of the European Union. We want to ensure that we use our landmark Environment Act 2021 to continue to improve the quality of our rivers, and that is what we are doing.