Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding his Department has provided to help tackle pollution caused by untreated sewage overflow to local authorities in West Dorset constituency in the 2024-25 financial year.

It is the responsibility of water companies to invest in infrastructure and other improvements to reduce untreated wastewater pollution incidents.

Since 2021 Water Companies have invested in 65 schemes in the West Dorset constituency which includes 6 improvement schemes for water quality and 39 monitoring programmes, with 63 of these due for completion by 31/3/2025.

All storm overflows, including those in the West Dorset constituency are now fitted with Event Duration Monitors, which provide discharge data from storm overflows in near real time. This will help provide information to support regulators’ investigations.