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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what timetable she has set for ending operator self-monitoring by water companies; what assessment she has made of the additional data, staffing, laboratory, digital and enforcement capacity required by regulators to replace operator self-monitoring; and whether she plans to publish that assessment.

The Environment Agency is making a step change in regulatory scrutiny across the sector, moving away from operator self-monitoring towards a more transparent, intelligence-led approach to monitoring. This includes increased inspections, independent audits, check sampling, stronger compliance requirements and enhanced data analytics to improve confidence in environmental monitoring.

The move to end operator self-monitoring is a transition rather than a single deliverable and no fixed end date has been set. Defra and the Environment Agency are assessing the staffing, laboratory, digital, data and regulatory capabilities required to support this transition. This work is ongoing.