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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 22 June 2023 to Question 188226 on Water Companies, how many (a) cautions, (b) prosecutions and (c) legal instruments the Drinking Water Inspectorate brought against water companies in each year since 2021 by water company.

Since 2021, the Drinking Water Inspectorate brought against water companies in each year since 2021,

(a) two cautions, one against Thames (2023) and one against Southern Water (2023),

(b) three prosecutions, against Southern Water (2022) and one against South West and Bournemouth Water (2022) and one against Wessex Water in 2023, and

(c) 362 legal instruments.

These are shown by water company below and comprise drinking water quality Legal Instruments (Notices), Final Enforcement Orders, Regulation 15 Notices for new sources, Radioactivity notices (waivers), Network and Information Systems (NIS) notices, Security and Emergency Direction (SEMD) notices, and notices for Price Review 2024 for water quality, NIS and SEMD. (They include the PR24 schemes that have been served to date which are most of the lead reduction schemes but no PFAS as yet, as the process is ongoing).