Independent Water Commission
Tim Farron Excerpts(5 days, 16 hours ago)
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Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement, and Sir Jon Cunliffe for his report and for his work in producing it. The Liberal Democrats have long argued for the abolition of Ofwat, and for the creation of a new, consolidated and powerful regulator. In fact, we put it to the Public Bill Committee and it was supported by neither the Labour party nor the Conservative party, but today’s proposal seems to include doing just that, so we strongly welcome the statement. It is a reminder to the wonderful volunteers and water campaigners across the country that their work is absolutely worth while and has made a huge difference. My message to them is: thank you so much and keep going, because we still do not know the details and the nature of the new regulator, and we still see no sign in the report of any plan to tackle the toxic nature of the water industry’s ownership structure.
Why is there no plan to change the structure of the industry itself? Even the best regulator in the world will fail if water companies are still owned by those who care nothing for the quality of the lakes, rivers and seas, and who care only about making as much profit as possible in return for very little investment. Is it really acceptable to ask bill payers for a 30% rise when there is no guarantee that the water company will not be siphoning off huge chunks of that money in dividends, pay rises or bonuses? Why is there nothing in the statement that will truly empower the volunteers, citizen scientists and water campaigners I just mentioned? Why are we not giving places on water company boards to the likes of the Eden Rivers Trust, the South Lakes Rivers Trust, Save Windermere, the Clean River Kent Campaign, Surfers Against Sewage and Windrush Against Sewage Pollution, known as WASP? Why is there no mention of monitoring the volume of sewage spills as well as the number of incidences, and no mention of including legally binding pollution reduction targets?
Although the statement is welcome and we rightly celebrate the Liberal Democrat campaign wins that it is full of, our job as a constructive and effective Opposition is to scrutinise the detail and to carry on campaigning to clean up our waterways and our water industry too. That is exactly what we shall do.
Steve Reed
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his questions. I echo and endorse his comments about the volunteers and citizen scientists who carried out fantastic work to ensure that this issue remained where it needed to be, which was right at the top of the political agenda. I hope that they will join us in welcoming Sir Jon’s report.
There will be a White Paper and a consultation alongside it. We will launch the White Paper in the autumn, giving detailed Government responses to the 450-page report. With 88 recommendations, there is a lot to go through, but the report includes proposals about ownership, which will be consulted on as well. Volunteers and citizen scientists will be able to engage for the first time through the proposed regional structures. We accept that proposal in principle, and the detail of it will be worked through during the consultation. For the first time, there will be engagement on the catchment of entire river systems, and citizens, local authorities and businesses will all have a voice in that, as will members of the farming community operating within those catchments.
I believe that by reducing the number of spills we will also reduce the volume of spills. The hon. Gentleman will be able to monitor that, and he will be able to hold me to account, as will the House and the public, as we work towards the target that I have outlined for reducing sewage spills from water companies by 50% by 2030. He of course is lucky enough to represent one of the most beautiful parts of the country, including Windermere, and we are working with United Utilities to remove all sources of pollution from that beautiful, iconic lake, so that what became a story of decline can become a visible symbol of renewal with this Government.
Draft Marking of Retail Good Regulations 2025
Tim Farron Excerpts(1 month ago)
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Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
It is a joy to serve under your guidance this evening, Sir Desmond. I thank the Minister very much for his introductory remarks. I support the draft regulations, which will provide the Government with a power to introduce “not for EU” labelling across Great Britain should it be needed to protect the UK internal market and consumer choice in Northern Ireland. They make it clear that the Secretary of State can decide to apply such labelling only where there is evidence that the supply of the product is seriously adversely affected by business operators withdrawing from the Northern Ireland market. I am pleased to observe that small businesses will not be expected to adhere to this measure and that Northern Irish goods will not need to be labelled to be placed on the market in Great Britain. Food for special medical purposes will also be exempted.
Over the past several years, Liberal Democrats have raised concerns about the approach being taken to this issue. More recently, we have raised concerns about the risk that other British businesses will lose out on trade with Northern Ireland as a result of the additional burdens associated with labelling. Despite that, we appreciate that the Government have taken a more workable and phased-out approach than the blanket label system that the previous Government proposed.
The draft regulations will ensure that the requirements are applied in a more limited and intelligent way, rather than in the comprehensive way that would have done unnecessary damage economically not just to farmers and producers in Northern Ireland, but right across the island of Britain. This instrument takes a more sensible approach: it will allow discretion, limit damage to business and minimise red tape, bureaucracy and unnecessary business costs.
Of course, it will not end such costs altogether. That is a reminder that the deal cooked up in early 2020 has a lasting, damaging impact on the UK economy and on our farmers, and that non-tariff trade barriers with Europe create real friction and cause real harm to farmers right across the United Kingdom and to food producers of every kind. It is worth remembering that 17,000 businesses since January 2020 have stopped trading with the European Union, fundamentally because of non-tariff barriers to trade such as this, so I echo the Conservative spokesperson, the hon. Member for Epping Forest: I am very interested to hear what the Minister has to say about the extent to which the EU reset will affect the requirements of this agreement and whether there will be any easing in trade friction.
This is not an issue that can be considered on its own. The impact on food producers on both sides of the Irish sea is significant. That comes alongside the impact on farmers’ confidence and business planning as a result of the inheritance tax changes; the 76% cut in basic payments for farmers this financial year; the £100 million reduction in like-for-like farm funding announced in the spending review last week; the enduring impact on British farmers of the unfair and unbalanced trade deals negotiated by the previous Government; and the trade friction caused by the separation of our farmers and food producers from their biggest external market, which is of course the European Union. We believe that food security must be treated as a public good, which is why I was pleased that the Farming Minister has agreed to meet me and the noble Lord, Lord Curry, in the coming weeks to discuss food security; I will be delighted to take advantage of that offer.
Nevertheless, the draft regulations are a significant improvement on what came before. It is right that discretion is being allowed. It is right that it is being done in a limited way, with small businesses exempted. The damage that will be done, both in Northern Ireland and on the island of Great Britain, will be mitigated by the draft regulations, but of course they will not entirely eradicate the damage that we have done by severing ourselves from our biggest market and our biggest international trading partner.
Draft Marking of Retail Goods Regulations 2025
Tim Farron Excerpts(1 month ago)
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Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
It is a joy to serve under your guidance this evening, Sir Desmond. I thank the Minister very much for his introductory remarks. I support the draft regulations, which will provide the Government with a power to introduce “not for EU” labelling across Great Britain should it be needed to protect the UK internal market and consumer choice in Northern Ireland. They make it clear that the Secretary of State can decide to apply such labelling only where there is evidence that the supply of the product is seriously adversely affected by business operators withdrawing from the Northern Ireland market. I am pleased to observe that small businesses will not be expected to adhere to this measure and that Northern Irish goods will not need to be labelled to be placed on the market in Great Britain. Food for special medical purposes will also be exempted.
Over the past several years, Liberal Democrats have raised concerns about the approach being taken to this issue. More recently, we have raised concerns about the risk that other British businesses will lose out on trade with Northern Ireland as a result of the additional burdens associated with labelling. Despite that, we appreciate that the Government have taken a more workable and phased-out approach than the blanket label system that the previous Government proposed.
The draft regulations will ensure that the requirements are applied in a more limited and intelligent way, rather than in the comprehensive way that would have done unnecessary damage economically not just to farmers and producers in Northern Ireland, but right across the island of Britain. This instrument takes a more sensible approach: it will allow discretion, limit damage to business and minimise red tape, bureaucracy and unnecessary business costs.
Of course, it will not end such costs altogether. That is a reminder that the deal cooked up in early 2020 has a lasting, damaging impact on the UK economy and on our farmers, and that non-tariff trade barriers with Europe create real friction and cause real harm to farmers right across the United Kingdom and to food producers of every kind. It is worth remembering that 17,000 businesses since January 2020 have stopped trading with the European Union, fundamentally because of non-tariff barriers to trade such as this, so I echo the Conservative spokesperson, the hon. Member for Epping Forest: I am very interested to hear what the Minister has to say about the extent to which the EU reset will affect the requirements of this agreement and whether there will be any easing in trade friction.
This is not an issue that can be considered on its own. The impact on food producers on both sides of the Irish sea is significant. That comes alongside the impact on farmers’ confidence and business planning as a result of the inheritance tax changes; the 76% cut in basic payments for farmers this financial year; the £100 million reduction in like-for-like farm funding announced in the spending review last week; the enduring impact on British farmers of the unfair and unbalanced trade deals negotiated by the previous Government; and the trade friction caused by the separation of our farmers and food producers from their biggest external market, which is of course the European Union. We believe that food security must be treated as a public good, which is why I was pleased that the Farming Minister has agreed to meet me and the noble Lord, Lord Curry, in the coming weeks to discuss food security; I will be delighted to take advantage of that offer.
Nevertheless, the draft regulations are a significant improvement on what came before. It is right that discretion is being allowed. It is right that it is being done in a limited way, with small businesses exempted. The damage that will be done, both in Northern Ireland and on the island of Great Britain, will be mitigated by the draft regulations, but of course they will not entirely eradicate the damage that we have done by severing ourselves from our biggest market and our biggest international trading partner.
Oral Answers to Questions
Tim Farron Excerpts(1 month, 1 week ago)
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Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
Lord Don Curry’s recent report on a sustainable farming model for the future was sent to the Secretary of State earlier this month. Have the Secretary of State and the Minister read it yet? Do they agree with me and Lord Curry that the UK is in a dangerously precarious position, given that we produce domestically only 55% of the food we need, and that we are therefore not food secure and need an urgent plan for food security? Will he meet me and the noble Lord to examine this industry-wide report, and start the process of putting Britain on the path to food security?
Daniel Zeichner
I think the hon. Gentleman knows me well enough to know that when a report from Lord Curry arrives in my inbox, I read it. I did so, with great interest. I do not agree with the hon. Gentleman that we are not food secure—the food security report produced at the end of last year explained this very carefully—but I am always willing and happy to discuss these issues with him and Lord Curry.
Thames Water
Tim Farron Excerpts(1 month, 3 weeks ago)
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Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
Under the Conservatives, Thames Water was allowed to pile up nearly £20 billion of debt while pumping sewage into rivers and lakes for 300,000 hours just last year, but rewarding its shareholders with £130 million of dividends. Today, Thames Water’s customers have been left in the lurch, and the Conservatives seem to think it is because we have all been a bit too mean about Thames Water.
The price must not be paid by the customers. Will the Secretary of State ensure that those who were responsible for making dreadful decisions rightly bear the cost instead? Is it not right for the company now to go into special administration, and to emerge from administration as a public interest company? Is it not also right that all water companies, including the likes of United Utilities in the north-west, move to a public interest model, so that caring for the environment matters more than profit?
My hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Charlie Maynard) has done more to hold Thames Water to account than Ofwat, this Government or their predecessor. Does that not prove that regulation has failed, and that Ofwat should be abolished, with a new, powerful clean water authority given the power to clean up our lakes and rivers, and our industry?
Steve Reed
I thank the hon. Member for his question. There is a procedure to be followed for special administration, and we stand ready should that be required, in this case or any other case involving the regulated industries. He may have had a chance today to look at the interim report, on which Sir Jon Cunliffe is inviting comments ahead of the final report in about a month. That report will form the basis of future legislation to fix the regulatory mess we inherited from the Conservative party.
Flooding: Planning and Developer Responsibilities
Tim Farron Excerpts(2 months, 1 week ago)
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Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
It is a genuine pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Hobhouse, and follow all the wonderful speeches in this important debate. I say a massive thank you to the hon. Member for Mid Norfolk (George Freeman) for securing the debate and for introducing it with great style and knowledge, as always.
I think that my constituency is the wettest represented in this Chamber, certainly in England, although there is possible competition from the hon. Member for Carlisle (Ms Minns).
Ms Minns
Carlisle floods, as the hon. Member knows all too well, but it is not beyond the wit of responsible developers to build in a way that reduces the trauma of flooding. There is an excellent example in Carlisle, where Story Homes built townhouses with garages underneath that are designed to flood, but in a way that protects the residents. Does the hon. Member agree that we need to do more to encourage developers to be responsible and innovative in their design?
Tim Farron
The hon. Member is 100% correct. It is interesting that some of the older properties in my constituency are the ones that are most resilient. In many cases, they were built hundreds of years ago to resist flooding, or for it not to be the end of the world when it does flood. The design of the new buildings in Carlisle absolutely measures up, and we should do more of that.
Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)
I must contest my hon. Friend’s suggestion that he represents the wettest part of the country. Somerset is always at the forefront of flooding. Part of my constituency lies in the levels and moors site of special scientific interest. The area is increasingly threatened by inappropriate planning applications. Locally elected officials are crucial to good decision making for local communities. Does my hon. Friend agree that they play an important role in making sure that the right decisions are made for local communities and our environment?
Wera Hobhouse (in the Chair)
Order. May I remind the hon. Gentleman that his time is limited?
Tim Farron
I shall take no more interventions. I appear to have opened a very soggy can of worms, but my hon. Friend the Member for Glastonbury and Somerton (Sarah Dyke) is absolutely correct.
Looking at the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, and at the attitude of this Government and the previous Government towards planning, they seem to be seeking to centralise control of planning at a national level, yet to relax planning rules at a local level to give local planners, local councillors and national parks less power than they currently have. That is very dangerous. In the last Parliament, I served on the Bill Committee considering the very lengthy Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill. Among the amendments proposed was one that we referred to as the infrastructure-first amendment. It would have given local authorities and national parks the power to say no to developments unless the infrastructure —including drainage, correct sewage provision and sufficient capacity—was there in advance. That power is so important, and it is missing today.
Many hon. Members, on both sides of the Chamber, have talked about the severe housing crisis. Some 7,000 people in my district are on the council house waiting list. We need to build, yet we know that there are a million properties in this country with planning permission, so it is not that the rules are too tough; it is that the developers are not building. We need to make sure that we point the finger of responsibility in the right direction.
New clause 7 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton and Wellington (Gideon Amos), would bring into force the sustainable drainage provisions of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. Shamefully, I must admit that I was the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for environment, food and rural affairs on the Bill that became that Act, 15 flippin’ years ago; I have been our EFRA spokesperson under every leader since Nick Clegg, including under myself, because there were only eight of us and someone had to do it. I remember the Bill very well. What a tragedy, and what an outrage, that schedule 3 to the Act has still not been brought into force, 15 years on. We aim to ensure that it is.
I am mindful of time, but this is a timely debate. Last week, I wrote to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs about the deeply concerning issue of flood defence spending. At the Budget, the Chancellor of the Exchequer said that there would be a review after the 2025-26 financial year. We are into that financial year now, so we are getting close. It is deeply troubling. My communities in Cumbria were massively affected by Storm Desmond nearly 10 years ago. The cost of that flooding incident was £500 million.
I am watching the clock, so I will simply say this: cutting flood defence spending and taking shortcuts in development that allow flooding to happen are catastrophic false economies—
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
Yes, absolutely. Thank you so much, Mrs Hobhouse. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship.
I thank all hon. Members who have contributed to this debate and especially the hon. Member for Mid Norfolk (George Freeman) for calling the debate and providing an opportunity for us to hear about and discuss how the planning system can best manage and mitigate flood risk. I am delighted to be here, obviously, as the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Minister, but I recognise that some of the points made were about amendments to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, so apologies if I cannot speak about amendments under a different brief. I will of course make sure that any points made are heard by the relevant Minister.
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Hampstead and Highgate (Tulip Siddiq) for raising the issue of surface water flooding. The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) and my hon. Friend the Member for South West Norfolk (Terry Jermy) talked about internal drainage boards, and I will address that. My hon. Friend the Member for Stockport (Navendu Mishra) talked about flooding and insurance and made important points. My hon. Friend the Member for Shrewsbury (Julia Buckley) talked about flood action groups, and I want to take a moment to say thank you to all the flood action groups, wardens and volunteers in communities up and down our country for the work that they do. Helpfully, my hon. Friend addressed some of the concerns and questions around maps, so she saved a chunk of my speech, which is great, because I have not got much time to speak on that, although I will talk a little more about maps.
My hon. Friend the Member for Reading Central (Matt Rodda) said, when I arrived, “You will see the same faces as we do in all these debates.” But that is good, because it shows what a tireless champion he is, along with our hon. Friend the Member for Carlisle (Ms Minns), in every flooding debate. It would not be the same without them—that is all I can say—so I thank them very much for coming here and, along with our hon. Friend the Member for Stockport, raising their concerns.
I met the hon. Member for Mid Norfolk back in April to discuss his proposals, and it was a really informative and helpful discussion. He raises important topics, which I have taken incredibly seriously and gone away and had a look at, because as he rightly said, climate change is bringing more extreme rainfall and rising sea levels, and it is a priority for this Government to protect communities from the increased risk of flooding.
I am not sure where the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron), got the idea that we were cutting funding for flooding. That is not the case. We have invested a record £2.65 billion over two years—2024-25 and 2025-26—for the construction of new flood schemes and the repair and maintenance of existing ones.
Tim Farron
I am asking the question because the Government and Chancellor have said that there is no commitment beyond the end of this financial year. We do not know whether the Government are cutting or increasing spending, and we want to know. Many flood-hit communities are desperate to hear what the Chancellor’s plans are beyond this financial year.
Oral Answers to Questions
Tim Farron Excerpts(2 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
On behalf of all Members on the Liberal Democrat Benches, I add my tribute to those who fought and died to secure our freedom. I also pay tribute to those in rural communities, like ours in Westmorland, who fed this country and welcomed evacuee children from the cities, and to our community in Windermere, who welcomed the children who had survived the Nazi death camps after the war. We remember them all with deep gratitude.
Has the Prime Minister consulted the Secretary of State on the potential impact on British farmers of the US-UK trade deal? It is a matter of fact that US animal welfare standards are worse than ours, which means that import costs are lower, so allowing equal access is not free trade—it is unfair trade. It is throwing our farmers under the bus, just as the Conservatives did through their deal with Australia and New Zealand. Will the Secretary of State support Liberal Democrat calls for the deal to be signed only if it supports farmers, and after a vote in this House?
Steve Reed
There have been no announcements yet, and I cannot pre-empt them, but we have been crystal clear that we have red lines. We will not allow British farmers to be undercut on environmental or welfare standards in the way that the Conservatives did when they agreed a trade deal with Australia; it undercut British farmers and caused them immense damage. We will never go the way of the Tories; we will stand four-square behind our farmers, and I am delighted to hear that the Liberal Democrats feel the same.
Sewage
Tim Farron Excerpts(3 months ago)
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Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
I beg to move,
That this House regrets the persistent scandal of raw sewage being dumped by water companies into rivers, lakes and coastal areas; notes with deep concern that just 14% of rivers and lakes in England are in good ecological health; condemns the previous Government for letting water company bosses get away with the scandal while paying themselves millions of pounds in bonuses; further notes the potential benefits of Blue Flag status in improving responsibility and accountability from water companies, through compliance checks and stringent environmental standards; and calls on the Government to take urgent action to end the sewage scandal, including the introduction of a new Blue Flag status for rivers and chalk streams, to give them greater protection against sewage dumping and ensure the public knows when rivers are clean and safe.
It is an honour to open this debate. For me, serving the people of Westmoreland also means defending its natural beauty and purity, which are important to our national heritage, farming industry and tourism and hospitality economy. Our proposal aims to highlight the scandal of the pollution of our waterways and calls for practical solutions that will make a difference.
The Government’s recent Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 was a step in the right direction after the failure of the last Conservative Government to take meaningful action, yet it was surely also a missed opportunity to bring in the radical transformation of regulation and ownership that is essential if we are to clean up our waterways and clean up the water industry as a whole. Sir Jon Cunliffe’s review gives us hope that a second, more ambitious water Bill might be coming, but there is no guarantee of that, so our job as the constructive Opposition in this place is to hold the Government to account and urge them to make the big changes that Britain voted for last July.
The need for radical action was made all the more clear recently when the figures for sewage spills in 2024 were released. Those figures were horrific: a 106% increase in the duration of spills in our lakes, rivers and seas in just two short years.
Steve Darling (Torbay) (LD)
Over Easter in Torbay, we had five sewage spills according to the Surfers Against Sewage app. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is extremely disappointing to say the least that, rather than colleagues just getting their cossie and towel to go swimming at their favourite swimming spot, they must now also check the sewage leak app? It is outrageous.
Tim Farron
I agree with my hon. Friend, who makes a really good point about his own communities. That is what we are trying to address today by bringing practical solutions to prevent this outrage.
That 106% increase in the duration of sewage spills in just two years has been explained away on the record by water industry bosses as the consequence of climate change, because it rains more than it used to. Yes, that is absolutely true, but it did not rain 106% more in 2024 than it did in 2022—not even in the Lake district. The reality is that the failure of water companies to invest in their infrastructure and the failure of Ofwat to force them to do so mean that the scandal is set to continue despite the Government’s new legislation.
Alison Bennett (Mid Sussex) (LD)
There were 754 spills in my constituency last year alone. We do not want to see those numbers anywhere, but in a constituency that does not have a major waterway, that is absurdly high. Does my hon. Friend agree that if we want to start genuinely holding these water companies to account, a great place to start would be replacing Ofwat?
Tim Farron
My hon. Friend anticipates where I am going next, but yes, it takes some doing to have such figures in a constituency lacking in water—certainly lacking in it compared to my neck of the woods.
I confess that I am doing this job not just because my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Ed Davey) asked me; I would volunteer for all this stuff, because for me and my communities water is seriously personal. We are home to much of the English Lake district —Windermere, Ullswater, Coniston water, Grasmere, Rydal water and many more—and to a beautiful stretch of Morecambe bay and some of the most ecologically significant rivers in the UK, including the Kent, the Eden and the Leven. Yet the data for 2024 shows that we are the third hardest hit constituency in England when it comes to the duration of sewage spills, with 55,000-plus hours of spills and 5,500 individual incidents.
The catchment of the River Eden going through Appleby, Kirkby Stephen and many beautiful villages saw over 7,000 hours of spills on 705 occasions. The River Kent catchment saw 5,300 hours of spills on 455 occasions. Windermere alone had 38 spills over 123 hours.
Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)
The “constructive Opposition” spokesperson—I do not know what that makes the Conservatives—is making a powerful speech. I look forward to having an opportunity to visit his constituency, because it sounds beautiful. Does he agree that it is disgraceful that while this sewage is being leaked, the chief executive officers of water companies are still paying themselves exorbitant bonuses?
Tim Farron
The hon. Member would, of course, be enormously welcome to visit the lakes and the dales. He makes a key point, which I will seek to address, about the injustice of people being paid huge bonuses for failure at the top of these organisations. That is also money leaving the system and the industry that could have been invested in putting some of this right.
I have talked about my patch, but colleagues across the House, from every party and from every corner of the United Kingdom, will have seen the data for their communities too, and they should rightly be outraged.
Jamie Stone
My hon. Friend talks, quite correctly, about a beautiful part of England. I, too, represent a very beautiful part of the world. Here is an unbelievable fact for him—I have written it on my hand: in 2023, there were no fewer than 1,439 sewage spills in the highlands. What a disgrace that none of the Scottish nationalists, the governing party of Scotland, are here today.
Tim Farron
My hon. Friend makes an important observation from a constituency vast and rural—my constituency is the second largest in England, but it is bijou and compact compared with his. He makes a good point about the Administration in Scotland.
As the hon. Member for Harlow (Chris Vince) alluded to, sewage spills are not the only things that have increased; so too has the money leaking out of the system. Water company bosses received a total combined pay last year of £20 million and more, and the water companies responsible for these failures paid out £1.2 billion in dividends. Surfers Against Sewage, which was mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Torbay (Steve Darling), has led the way on this issue for many years, since before many others were even talking about it.
Richard Tice (Boston and Skegness) (Reform)
Talking about dividends, does the hon. Gentleman agree that it is completely wrong that tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions, also leak out on high interest on the internal shareholder loans of those who own the water companies?
Tim Farron
I will talk later about why privatisation of the water industry was such a colossal mistake, and that is one of the consequences—a predictable consequence. The hon. Gentleman makes a very good point.
Recent research by Surfers Against Sewage covers all the water companies, but I am bound to pick out United Utilities as an example. United Utilities paid out £320 million to investors last year, while its customers—my constituents—will pay 32% more in bills. By the way, 11% of every one of my constituents’ water bills is going to service that company’s debts—debts racked up in part by borrowing money in order to give huge, undeserved paydays to their investors.
Caroline Voaden (South Devon) (LD)
In South Devon last year, we had an astonishing 49,904 hours of sewage leaks, or 5.69 years-worth of sewage pouring into the glorious Dart and Avon and into the sea around South Devon. Meanwhile, my constituents write to me about bills that have gone up by as much as 50%. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is an outrage that the privatised water companies are able to carry on increasing bills, increasing dividends to shareholders and paying multimillion-pound salaries to CEOs while this obscenity of sewage pouring into our rivers, seas and lakes continues?
Tim Farron
My hon. Friend represents an utterly beautiful part of the country and she fights for it admirably; her constituents are lucky to have her. She makes an important point. I mentioned that 11% of the bills paid by my constituents in the north-west of England goes to service United Utilities’ debt, but that is one of the lowest levels. For many other colleagues on both sides of the House, their local water companies will be using up to 30% of the bills charged just to service their debt. The sewage scandal is an environmental scandal, but it is also a financial one—an affront to justice and fairness, as well as to our ecology.
Andrew George (St Ives) (LD)
It is also a health scandal. What water companies are doing by allowing sewage to seep into our coastal waters and rivers means that many people who enjoy that environment for swimming and so on fall ill, and many of them lose days at work. As well as covering the cost to the taxpayer of cleaning up the environment, the water companies should really be making a contribution to the Exchequer to cover sick pay and the costs to the NHS.
Tim Farron
My hon. Friend makes an important point on behalf of his coastal and island communities in the far south-west. They are also very lucky to have him speaking up for them.
The Windrush Against Sewage Pollution and Save Windermere campaigns worked together on a recent report showing that the use of funds for capital projects by water companies around the country was at best wasteful and negligent and at worst, dare I say it, deeply suspect. They focused on the proposal by, again, United Utilities to spend almost £13 million of local bill payers’ money on an extension to a sewage outfall pipe into Windermere. WASP found this to be “excessive” and said it seemed unreasonable that 43 three-bedroom houses could be built for the price of putting a mere 150-metre sewage pipe into a lake. The report shines a light on what WASP considers to be inflated capital spending costs at water companies around the country, and it rightly asks what Ofwat is doing by signing this stuff off—signing off huge bill increases when water companies are not spending that money wisely.
Freddie van Mierlo (Henley and Thame) (LD)
My hon. Friend has outlined the outrage and the scandal of sewage leaking into our rivers, lakes and seas. It is also the case that sewage is spilling out on to our streets, and groundwater infiltration causes much of the problem. Thames Water in my area has so far refused to do anything about “Poo Corner” in the parish of Berrick Salome. Does my hon. Friend agree that this is another issue we need to address?
Tim Farron
Until now, I always thought “The House at Pooh Corner” was a good thing; obviously that would not be so in this case. I have seen the same thing in my own patch. In the village of Burneside we are finally, after 20 years of campaigning, getting some additional new sewage infrastructure, which will hopefully prevent poop literally coming up on to the pavements in light rainfall where the local kids catch the bus to go into Kendal to school, which is an absolute outrage. My hon. Friend is right to campaign, as he does very well, for his communities on this issue.
We should already know not to take water companies at their word, I am afraid, given their shoddy record on data transparency. For example, the chief executive of United Utilities, Louise Beardmore, among others admitted at the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee not very long ago that they had refused to release spill data until WASP appealed to the Information Commissioner. Furthermore, in 2022 United Utilities was listed as the best performing water company in England, for which it was allowed to raise its bills as a reward. However, the BBC reported whistleblowers at the Environment Agency claiming that United Utilities had been wrongly downgrading dozens of pollution incidents. So we can surely be forgiven for being a little cynical when those water companies propose huge sums for projects like the one I have just mentioned.
That is why our key criticism of the Government’s new water Act is not of anything that is in that legislation, but of what is missing from it. The situation whereby water companies can be responsible for record levels of sewage pollution and be shown to make bad use of bill payers’ money, with inflated capital costs and inflated dividends, could not happen if they were regulated properly, but they are not.
Helen Maguire (Epsom and Ewell) (LD)
In my constituency in March, phosphate levels in the River Mole surged by 50% and nitrates doubled. This is pollution that can cause algal blooms and suffocate wildlife. Does my hon. Friend agree that we urgently need a clean water authority with real enforcement powers to protect our rivers, before it is simply too late?
Tim Farron
I completely agree, and my hon. Friend is absolutely right to make that point, particularly given the experience she has in her constituency. She rightly fights very forcefully for her communities and to clean up her waterways. She will have seen, like all of us, that the principal problem is a failure of regulation. There has to be an answer to that and the Liberal Democrat proposal, which I will come to in a moment, would certainly make it more likely that this would be dealt with effectively—and if it solved the problem, that would be great.
The water industry regulatory framework is fragmented and weak. The regulators lack the resource, the power and the culture, it would appear, to make a serious difference. That is why the Liberal Democrats propose a new clean water authority so that water companies stop running rings around multiple regulators and begin to act in the interests of the British people and of the waterways that we love.
Anna Dixon (Shipley) (Lab)
I represent a very beautiful part of the Yorkshire dales, in Wharfedale, and Yorkshire Water has been responsible for hundreds of thousands of hours of sewage spills into the rivers. It was fined £47 million by Ofwat for its poor performance in 2023, only for that to be repeated in 2024. Will the hon. Gentleman welcome the action that the Government have already taken through the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025—which is more than the previous Government ever did to tackle this disgusting problem—and also recognise that we do see the problems with regulation and the fact that we need stronger regulation of the water industry to protect the environment and public health, and that is the role of the Cunliffe review?
Tim Farron
I absolutely welcome the Act, as I said at the beginning of the debate. It is a step in the right direction; I just do not think that it is enough, and the hon. Lady makes the case as to why it is not enough. Her water company, Yorkshire Water, is one of four water companies that between them owe Ofwat £164 million in fines because of their failure, and Ofwat has so far claimed zero—none of that. There seems to be an awareness among water companies that Ofwat is not a regulator to be feared and therefore not one to be responded to. That is among the reasons why we need a new, much more powerful regulator that has the power, and uses it, to refuse to sign off on spending plans that prioritise the investor over the consumer and the environment.
Sir Ashley Fox (Bridgwater) (Con)
I thank the hon. Gentleman and his party for bringing the motion. It is important that we improve the quality of our rivers and seas. Does he share my concern that in the Water (Special Measures) Act the Government refused to allow local areas to retain the money fined from water companies to improve the environment in that area? Were they able to do that, that would lead to a real improvement in the quality of our environment.
Tim Farron
I agree, and the hon. Member can check the record and see us voting with the Conservatives in Committee. He makes a good point: the communities most damaged by pollution should be the ones that receive investment from the fines—if, indeed, Ofwat ever bothers to collect them.
Alongside the need for regulatory reform, we propose a radical transformation of the ownership model. Privatisation of the water industry has been an expensive failure—35 years of huge debts and payouts to investors, 35 years of inadequate investment in our infrastructure. The Conservative promise of Britain becoming a shareowning democracy has turned into the predictable nightmare reality of British public utilities owned by billionaires and foreign powers—what an absolute disgrace. The end result is the rivers, lakes and seas in which we swim, fish, canoe, sail, work and play polluted by an industry now owned by those who took but would not give. Water companies need new models of ownership, transitioning to public benefit companies that are focused on environmental good, not profiteering, with funds from customers’ bills pumped back into upgrading and repairing infrastructure, not draining away in dividends.
We welcome the independent water commission chaired by Sir Jon Cunliffe, though we remain impatient given the time it will take to publish the commission’s findings, the further period of time it may take for the Government to do anything about them, followed by a legislative process and implementation period—we will be at the end of the Parliament before we know it. To be fair, with the commission the Government provide themselves with a second chance to bring in the ambitious changes that are needed, and we urge them not to miss this chance.
Ministers will remember with deep joy the 44 amendments that the Liberal Democrats proposed to the water Bill. In our submission to Sir Jon, I have sought to turn those amendments into a single set of proposals to restore our water industry to environmental and financial health, and to harness the amazing power of citizen scientists and volunteers up and down the country. It is why we called for the inclusion of water campaigners, such as WASP, Save Windermere, the Clean River Kent Campaign, Eden Rivers Trust and South Cumbria Rivers Trust, on water company boards. It is why we call for the Government’s welcome new sewage spills database to be a searchable tool, including retrospectively, so that we do not hamstring those brilliant volunteers who seek to hold the water industry and its regulators to account. Tens of thousands of people are giving their expertise, time and passion to clean up our waterways. Let us let them off the leash, equip them and empower them. I was sad to see Conservative and Labour colleagues refuse to support these measures during the passage of the Water (Special Measures) Act, but I hope that they will have a change of heart today.
In the motion before us, we specifically urge the establishment of a new system of blue flag status for rivers and chalk streams as a practical way to force water companies to be more accountable for the safety of the swimmers who use them and for the ongoing protection and flourishing of precious habitats and ecosystems.
Several hon. Members rose—
Dan Aldridge (Weston-super-Mare) (Lab)
Voting for the recent Water (Special Measures) Act and serving in Committee with the hon. Gentleman was one of the highlights of my first six months in this place. [Hon. Members: “Aw.”] For constituents in my coastal community, it is so important that we get this right, so it is right that we take a long-term transformative approach. Does he agree that it is not just the safety of residents and tourists that will benefit from the Government’s changes to clean up our water, but the selfless volunteers from organisations such as the RNLI in places like Weston-super-Mare, who deserve to do their vital lifesaving work in the cleanest and safest water possible?
Tim Farron
I completely agree—and the feeling is mutual. I appreciate that I am going on a bit and that a few Members wish to intervene. We will have to go by hands up. [Interruption.]
Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)
My hon. Friend is making a typically good speech. Does he agree that water from areas where one cannot swim still ends up in areas where one can? The Roden and Perry rivers in my constituency suffered over 2,000 hours of sewage spills in the past year—the Perry is affected by a spill into the Common brook near Oswestry. Not only does that water go past farmers’ fields, but it ends up in Shrewsbury, where there is a designated swimming area. I want to swim in it. Does he agree that the blue flag status would clear up the whole catchment, not just the places where people go swimming?
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
Order. Before you get back to your feet, Mr Farron, I remind you that you can speak as long as you want, but the longer you speak, the less likely it is that colleagues will be able to contribute.
Tim Farron
I appreciate your guidance, Madam Deputy Speaker, and I will allow maybe only two more interventions. I am coming towards the end of my remarks. I am trying to be not selfish but generous by getting the balance right. I do not want to squeeze people out altogether.
Manuela Perteghella
Last week, I joined constituents involved in citizen science projects testing water quality in the River Stour. The findings were deeply concerning: the very high levels of phosphates and nitrates in the water are clear evidence of the ongoing damage to our waterways. Will my hon. Friend join me in commending the important work of volunteers in citizen science projects, and does he agree that the Environment Agency must be properly resourced to monitor water quality in our rivers, brooks, streams and seas?
Tim Farron
I agree. The Ministers are really lucky in so many ways. They are in the best the Department and—like few others in government—they have an army of volunteers to call upon who will be their arms and legs out in the community. We ask the Government to empower those volunteers even more. If there is one more intervention, I will take it. [Interruption.] No? Then I will now plough on to the bitter end, which is not too far off, I promise.
People have talked about blue flag status. That is one of the key proposals in the motion. The point of blue flag status for rivers, chalk streams and lakes is that it is a practical way of forcing water companies to be more accountable for the safety of swimmers and for the ongoing protection of precious habitats and ecosystems. We call on the Government to introduce a blue corridor programme for rivers, chalk streams and lakes to ensure clean and healthy water through the creation of a new blue flag status.
Many rivers and lakes have sites with bathing water status, including near Coniston and Windermere in my own patch, but what will surprise many people is the fact that having bathing water status means just that a location will be tested more frequently; it does not automatically mean that it is any cleaner. There were over 24,000 sewage spills last year into our bathing waters alone, for a duration of over 179,000 hours. Surfers Against Sewage found that the Government’s new bathing water feasibility test lacking. It said:
“This step could mean that sites that are deemed too polluted risk being immediately denied this designation, and therefore unable to receive the monitoring and investment needed to make blue spaces cleaner and safer”.
As my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton and Wellington (Gideon Amos) pointed out recently, that gives water companies a loophole to get away without cleaning up a bathing site that people use regularly because it is too polluted anyway. If it is a popular swimming site, it must be cleaned up.
In contrast, blue flag status would be granted only at those sites where the data showed that the water is clean and safe. We would give swimmers and other river users proper evidence-based confidence in the safety of the water. If evidence were needed that our proposals are desperately needed, Surfers Against Sewage received 1,853 sickness reports from contact with our waterways in 2024 alone—that is nine years of sick days.
As a brief aside, because it is so important and central to what we are trying to achieve, we want to provide special protection for our chalk streams. They are rare, ecologically unique habitats that are often referred to as England’s rainforests, yet even they have come under threat from sewage dumping in recent years. Blue flag status for chalk streams would drive their recovery after years of abuse.
To conclude, to represent the precious lakes and dales of Westmorland and Lonsdale is a massive privilege, and it is also a huge responsibility. We know in our community that it is our collective calling to steward the epic slice of creation that surrounds us, including the stunning waters, meres and tarns of the Lake district, our coasts and our rivers. They are not ours to keep; they are ours to preserve for the people of these islands and beyond, and for the people of this generation and the generations that we shall never meet.
Politics is also a great calling. In this case, it allows us to establish the structures that will enable that stewardship of our waterways to be effective, to be more than just words and to mean practical change for the better. Our motion today gives the House the opportunity to do practical good, and to do so now, without further dither or delay. Residents in every community of our country want us to listen to them and to act to end the sewage scandal. We must not let them down.
Draft Fair Dealing Obligations (Pigs) Regulations 2025
Tim Farron Excerpts(3 months ago)
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Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
It is a pleasure to serve under your guidance this afternoon, Ms Vaz. Likewise, I am very supportive of the draft regulations. The UK pig industry is something that we should all be proud of. It is instrumental to our rural communities right across the country and an important exporter, but it also maintains the highest quality of produce and animal welfare standards. That is important in an era in which we are seeking potential deals with countries whose animal welfare standards may not be quite so high. The industry is vital to our rural economy and our food security. John Maynard Keynes said, among many other wise things:
“Markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent.”
The reality is that the market is ambivalent, at best, on whether we have a strong pig sector. Without safety, security and fairness in the sector, we stand the chance of losing it all together.
It is right that the intervention happened, as other Members have talked about. Post Brexit, we saw a terrible crisis, particularly in staffing of the sector, which saw the culling of tens of thousands of healthy animals, as we have heard. That was appalling for those animals, and appalling and heartbreaking for the families involved. A devastation lingers, which has driven us in no small part to this stage. It is right to give credit to the previous Government. The consultation began in 2022, following that crisis. I have also paid tribute to all who were involved in that consultation, providing the feedback that was instrumental in leading us to where we are now.
The spokesperson for the official Opposition, the hon. Member for Epping Forest, talked about the other threats that farming faces, and that is absolutely true. People talk about the impact of the inheritance tax changes on family farms, which will be a massive blow for hundreds in my constituency. We will wait and see. I have tabled plenty of parliamentary questions to try and find that out, but the University of Cumbria’s research tends to conclude that the underspend on the current departmental budget for the environmental land management scheme will be in the region of £400 million. That money is not in farmers’ pockets, and that undermines our ability to have a food security. As I mentioned, a fair market is crucial to food security. If we lose pig producers and pig farmers, we simply offshore the industry and end up in a situation where our ability to secure pig products becomes more difficult, more expensive and, importantly, less secure. These regulations will build in transparency, security, clarity and fairness in the pig sector, in particular for the producers themselves.
Let me say a word about the role of the Groceries Code Adjudicator. In no small part, the draft regulations are necessary because we do not allow the Groceries Code Adjudicator to intervene in arrangements where there is not a direct link between the producer, the farmer and the retailer. Yet, a massive majority of deals are with pig farmers, or indeed other farmers, and a processor of some kind or another. I am proud that one of the things that came from the Liberal Democrats manifesto and went into the coalition agreement was the establishment of the Groceries Code Adjudicator. I was frustrated, though, that we ended that Government with it not having the powers that we wanted it to have.
To protect farmers of all kinds, I would love the Minister and the Government in general to consider very seriously ensuring that the Groceries Code Adjudicator can accept referrals on the fairness or otherwise of deals between farmers and processors, not just farmers and supermarkets. Anonymity should be kept within the system. We can see why a farmer would not want to refer their deal, because it might be the only one they have, even though it is not a fair one. Third parties such as those present, the National Farmers’ Union and other organisations should be permitted to make referrals anonymously on behalf of those farmers who are being ripped off.
On top of that, the referee—the Groceries Code Adjudicator—should simply be given yellow and red cards to mean something, to hold those more powerful parts of the industry to account. There are thousands of producers, but only a handful of processors and supermarkets, so of course it is an imbalanced and unfair market. A referee has to have cards—otherwise, what is the point? My final point about the Groceries Code Adjudicator is that, last time I checked, it had five staff—what is that up against an industry that is massively better supported? Let us support our farmers by ensuring that the market is fair and that it is refereed fairly and strongly. The draft regulations go a small way to achieve that in the pig sector.
Oral Answers to Questions
Tim Farron Excerpts(4 months ago)
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Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
I call the Liberal Democrats spokesperson.
Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
Is the Minister aware that some of the farmers who will be worst hit by the APR changes are those who farm in severely disadvantaged areas in the uplands around our country, where typically property values are high and incomes are extremely low? When the change was made just last week with people being excluded from the sustainable farming incentive, 6,100 people had entered the SFI in this session, and only 40 of them were hill farmers. Is he also aware that his own Department’s figures show that at the end of the transition, the average hill farm income will be 55% of the national minimum wage? Does he not understand that his changes are bringing harm to the poorest farmers in the prettiest places, such as mine? Will he undertake to look at the Liberal Democrat proposal to bring in an uplands reward so that we do not plunge into poverty those people who care for our precious landscapes?