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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2021 to Question UIN 132840, what steps have been taken since the response to that question to seek views on making separate regulations in relation to private waste-water pumps similar to the Water Industry (Schemes for Adoption of Private Sewers) Regulations 2011 concerning the adoption of those assets by sewerage companies; and what steps his Department plans to take to ensure publication of that consultation.

Since my Answer of 15 January 2021 to PQ 132840, my officials have established the timeline for taking forward the work to seek to implement Section 42 and to consider the question of supplementary regulations to adopt existing sewerage assets, such as private wastewater pumps, constructed since 2 July 2011.

We will be engaging with key stakeholders from May 2021. This will enable us to develop possible policy options with the necessary public consultation on those options and our assessment of costs and benefits for early 2022.

The consultation will be public and will be available on Citizen Space.