Oral Answers to Questions

Tom Rutland Excerpts

Thursday 4th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dame Angela Eagle]

I am more than happy to meet the hon. Gentleman to talk about this important issue, if he so desires, or a cross-party group of MPs. I point out that in the recent trade deals, both with the Gulf Co-operation Council and India, we have protected both the poultry egg and poultry meat sectors from the kind of approach we saw in the trade deal that the Conservative Government did with Australia.

[Tom Rutland (East Worthing and Shoreham) (Lab)]

8. What steps she is taking to improve access to nature.

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

I thank my hon. Friend for all the work he did for us during his time in DEFRA. This Government are transforming access to nature in this country, delivering three new national forests and nine new national river walks, as well as launching the Wainwright coast-to-coast walk as a national trail in March. East Worthing and Shoreham is benefiting from this—it is home to a spectacular section of the recently launched King Charles III England coast path, which at 2,700 miles is the longest waymarked and maintained coastal walking route in the world.

[Tom Rutland]

I thank the Minister for her answer and her kind words. The recently inaugurated King Charles III England coast path winds its way through my constituency, passing Lancing’s wonderful Widewater lagoon nature reserve, which I worked with the community—including the World of Widewater committee—to save when it was drying up last summer. Can the Minister set out what health and tourism benefits the newly inaugurated path will bring to coastal communities such as mine?

[Mary Creagh]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for the work he did on the protection of Widewater lagoon—holding the water on the land when it is raining and ensuring that it is there during very dry spells is one of the challenges we face. The coastal path will boost everybody’s mental and physical health, and will bring significant opportunity to his businesses in Worthing. We know that visitors to England’s coastal paths already generate £350 million in spending in local coastal economies each year and support nearly 6,000 jobs.

Independent Water Commission

Tom Rutland Excerpts

Monday 21st July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Steve Reed]

By monitoring every single outlet and making that visible to people across the country—campaigners and residents—we will open up the system with far greater transparency than has previously been the case.

[Tom Rutland (East Worthing and Shoreham) (Lab)]

Last week, it was revealed that the chief executive of Southern Water was awarded an egregious, enormous pay rise worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, despite the company continuing to oversee sewage spills and infrastructure failures that affect my constituents. Does the Secretary of State agree that water bosses should not profit from overseeing catastrophic failure?

[Steve Reed]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend and share his sentiment that the payment is outrageous. It was possible as part of a scheme that was permitted under the regulatory regime allowed by the previous Government. We have changed the law; it will not happen again.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tom Rutland Excerpts

Thursday 20th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Daniel Zeichner]

This is why we will be introducing a land-use framework—to ensure that we can make rational decisions about how land is used to best effect.

[Tom Rutland (East Worthing and Shoreham) (Lab)]

We are blessed to be nestled between the beautiful River Adur and the sea in my constituency, but that leaves us prone to flooding. Last year, my constituents in Shoreham found their homes and businesses flooded. I welcome the Government’s £2.65 billion for flood defences and must stress the importance of East Worthing and Shoreham getting its fair share of that funding. Will the Minister confirm when the Government will announce funding allocations for local flood defence projects?

[Emma Hardy]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that important issue. We are taking decisive action to halt the steady decline in the condition of flood defences that we saw under the previous Government, including shifting an extra £108 million into maintenance. We will announce further projects in due course.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tom Rutland Excerpts

Thursday 14th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Steve Reed]

It is very important that the Government listen to farmers, and of course we will do so, but I know that farmers are reasonable people. They will want to look at the facts and, like everybody else, if they drill into the HMRC data they will see that three quarters of them will end up paying no more under the new system than they do today.

[Tom Rutland (East Worthing and Shoreham) (Lab)]

T4. Sewage spills are a scourge for my residents, and not just in the sea but in the street too. Raw sewage and used toilet roll flooded a street in Southwick recently. What are the Government’s plans to force the water companies to upgrade their infrastructure and bring an end to those foul, smelly spills that are blighting the lives of local residents?

[Steve Reed]

My hon. Friend raises an important point. He is a strong campaigner in his constituency against the failings of the water company and the high levels of pollution resulting from the failures of the previous Government, so I know that he is backing the Water (Special Measures) Bill that is working its way through Parliament, and that he will support Sir Jon Cunliffe’s commission, as we seek to reset the sector by changing its regulation and governance so that it works better for consumers and the environment.