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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether fines received for environmental breaches are hypothecated back into environmental schemes.

Following the Spending Review, this Government has confirmed that water company fines and penalties will be allocated to projects and programmes across the country which contribute to water quality. Over £100 million in fines levied against water companies since October 2023, as well as future fines and penalties, will be reinvested into projects to clean up our waters which could include local environmental programmes to address pollution.