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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made on the impact of tyre wear on water pollution in (a) West Yorkshire and (b) England.

No assessment has been being carried out specifically in West Yorkshire. However, more widely in 2020, Defra published the findings from research (Tyre particles reach rivers and ocean - Defra in the media (blog.gov.uk) it has funded with Plymouth University and others investigating the sources and pathways of synthetic fibre and vehicle tyre wear contamination into the marine and river environment. Researchers are also currently undertaking work for Defra to develop and test a new methodology to analyse vehicle tyre ware products in river sediments.

In addition, the Environment Agency contributed to research (First phase of research paves the way for further studies on microplastics pollution - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)) undertaken by Highways England and industry experts on the extent of microplastic pollution from run-off from the major road network.

The outcomes from these research projects will be used in the development of policy options to help mitigate the impact of microplastics on the aquatic environment and provide design guidance for the major road network.