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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to expand phosphorus reduction targets to include smaller upstream wastewater treatment works.

Phosphorus levels in treated wastewater are monitored by the Environment Agency (EA), and the discharge of phosphorus from wastewater treatment works is managed in accordance with discharge permit conditions, also enforced by the Environment Agency.

The Environmental Improvement Plan sets an interim target to reduce phosphorus loadings from treated wastewater into freshwaters in England by a 50% reduction by 31 Jan 2028.

This will be delivered – along with the long-term target of an 80% reduction by 31 December 2038 – through upgrades to wastewater treatment works as part of the usual water company business planning cycle. The EA will support the upgrades by introducing new or strengthened phosphorus limits to wastewater treatment works’ permits, including at many smaller treatment works, requiring them to actively take steps to reduce phosphorus pollution for the first time.