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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to implement the Catchment Based Approached (a) Chalk Stream Restoration Strategy 2021 and (b) Chalk Stream Strategy Implementation Plan 2023.

The Catchment Based Approach (CaBA) group has led fantastic work in developing the Chalk Stream Restoration Strategy and Implementation Plan, and I particularly want to thank them for all their great work in restoring these important habitats.

Restoring our chalk streams to better ecological health is a core ambition of our overall programme of work to clean up rivers, lakes and seas for good. Alongside our programme of reforms, Water companies will invest £2 billion over the next 5 years to deliver more than 1,000 targeted actions for chalk stream restoration as part of our Plan for Change. The government is investing £1.8 million through the Water Restoration Fund and Water Environment Improvement Fund for locally led chalk stream clean-up projects across affected regions.

Our Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan ensures chalk streams are prioritised for improvement as part of the record £11 billion investment to improve nearly 3,000 storm overflows nationwide.