Asked by: Sojan Joseph (Labour - Ashford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to enforce the publication of real-time data on sewage released into (a) rivers (b) the sea and (c) other waterways in Kent.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since 1 January 2025, water companies have been required to publish data related to discharges from all storm overflows within one hour of the discharge beginning. The Secretary of State has authorised Ofwat to carry out enforcement action for this duty, in accordance with the powers conferred under sections 18 and 141DA (4) of the Water Industry Act 1991. Ofwat’s enforcement powers provide for a wide range of enforcement activity, including substantial penalties.
Ofwat is monitoring compliance with the duty to report relevant data in real time. Where it detects non-compliance, it will take appropriate enforcement action. In addition to this, the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 has introduced an equivalent duty for water companies to publish data related to discharges from all emergency overflows within one hour of the discharge beginning. Once commenced, this duty will be enforced in the same way.
Asked by: Sojan Joseph (Labour - Ashford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the measures in place to tackle (a) littering and (b) flytipping in Kent.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Fly-tipping and littering blight communities and harm the environment. Local councils are usually best placed to assess the measures in place to address the local littering and fly-tipping problems in their area. No specific assessment of the effectiveness of measures in place to tackle littering and fly-tipping in Kent has been made.
Local authorities have enforcement powers to tackle these issues, including fixed penalty notices of up to £1000 for fly-tipping and £500 for littering and prosecution action, which can lead to significant fine or even imprisonment. We encourage councils to make good use of their enforcement powers and are considering what further steps we can take to assist them in doing so.
We committed to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess that they have created as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour. We will provide further details on this commitment, and other actions to tackle fly-tipping, in due course.
Asked by: Sojan Joseph (Labour - Ashford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage local authorities to include the recycling of small electrical items as part of household waste collections.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Waste Electronics and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) regulations make producers responsible for the electrical products they place on the market when they become waste. As part of this producers can pay into the WEEE Compliance Fee fund that provides project funding for local authorities seeking to provide more recycling opportunities for local residents. It also funds consumer awareness campaigns highlighting the importance of properly disposing of their electrical waste. According to Material Focus, 100 local authorities in the United Kingdom operate Kerbside collection for small electricals.
Asked by: Sojan Joseph (Labour - Ashford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of adding XL Bullies to the list of prohibited dogs under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 on the number of attacks by XL Bullies.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is continuing to engage closely with the Police, local authorities, and rescue and rehoming organisations to monitor the impacts of the XL Bully dog ban. These measures are vital to protect the public and we expect all XL Bully owners to comply with the conditions.
Asked by: Sojan Joseph (Labour - Ashford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to clear up water ways in Ashford constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government’s Water (Special Measures) Bill will the first important step in enabling wider, transformative change across the water sector, reducing pollution and cleaning up our waterways. The Government has also launched an Independent Commission into the water sector regulatory system, anticipated to form the largest review of the industry since privatisation.
With respect to the Ashford constituency, this year Environment Agency (EA) officers have inspected four permitted water company assets, with more planned in the coming months as part an increased programme of regulatory visits. No significant issues have been found so far. Where significant permit breaches or issues are identified, the appropriate enforcement response will be pursued according to the EA’s enforcement policy.
EA Agricultural Officers have been focusing their regulatory efforts in the Great Stour catchment this year. These inspections ensure farmers are operating in ways that reduce polluting inputs into watercourses.
The EA is also an active participant of the Kentish Stour Catchment partnership which identifies and commissions projects to improve water quality and river habitats across the catchment.