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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce environmental pollution caused by the spreading of sewage sludge on agricultural land.

The Government recognises that wastewater treatment practices have changed in recent years and new risks may be emerging from the spread of treated sewage sludge to agricultural land.

The Government has been working with water companies on the Chemical Investigations Programme (CIP) to improve the evidence base contaminants in wastewater treatment. Phase 4 of CIP will investigate the impact of sludge application on soil, surface and groundwater. The results will help inform future policy.

The Government is continuing to work with the Environment Agency to assess the regulatory framework for spreading sludge. We recognise that effective and proportionate regulations are an essential tool to improve the water environment. However, further work is required before any proposal for change may be progressed.

The Government has also launched an Independent Commission into the water sector regulatory system, which is the largest review of the industry since privatisation.

The Independent Commission’s Call for Evidence, published in February 2025, highlighted the Environment Agency’s recommendation to strengthen the regulatory framework for sludge application on land by incorporating the Sludge Use in Agriculture Regulations 1989 into the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016.

A set of recommendations will be delivered by Q2 of this year. The UK government and Welsh Government will then respond and consult on proposals we intend to take forward.