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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to collaborate with (a) water companies and (b) scientific experts on future investment in per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances remediation for South Shields.

The Environment Agency (EA) has worked with water companies and their research body, UK Water Industry Research, on the Chemicals Investigation Programme (CIP) since 2010. CIP has conducted investigations into PFOS and PFOA, and the CIP3 phase has established their concentrations in sewage works, their catchments and the receiving waters. Based on this work targeted investigations will be conducted in the next phase of CIP, known as CIP4, none of which need to be carried out in South Shields.

In the UK REACH Work Programme for 2021-22, Defra asked the EA and Health and Safety Executive to examine the risks posed by PFAS and develop a 'Regulatory Management Options Analysis' (RMOA). Defra welcomed the RMOA recently published and is working with its partners to develop the recommendations for risk management measures, building on the commitment in the 25 Year Environment Plan to tackle chemicals of concern.