Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Metcalfe Excerpts

Thursday 29th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Sir Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con)]

1. What steps she has taken to improve the cleanliness of Britain's rivers and waterways.

[Stephen Metcalfe (South Basildon and East Thurrock) (Con)]

11. What steps she has taken to improve the cleanliness of Britain's rivers and waterways.

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Elizabeth Truss)]

We have made good progress and cleaned up more than 10,000 miles of our rivers. Pollution from sewage has gone down significantly. During this Parliament, phosphate pollution will fall by a fifth and ammonia by a sixth. This shows that a healthy environment goes hand in hand with a healthy economy.

[Elizabeth Truss]

My right hon. Friend mentions two fine rivers, and I have been on the River Cherwell, a very fine river. He is absolutely right. We have cleaned more than 10,000 miles of river and we will shortly put in place our new countryside stewardship scheme, which will enable farmers to get grants to improve water quality even further.

[Stephen Metcalfe]

The Thames is not only England’s longest river, but east of here and down to my constituency it is also the most populated. What steps are the Government taking to clean up the river, while balancing the needs of the users and flora and fauna?

[Elizabeth Truss]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right about the River Thames. It is vital not only for London but for our whole country, and it is unacceptable that at present raw sewage is regularly pumped into the Thames. That is why we are taking action, through projects such as the Thames tideway tunnel, to reduce that vastly.