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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of pollution incidents did the Environment Agency attend in each of the last three years.

The Environment Agency (EA) responds to approximately 15,000 environmental incidents every year. Environmental incidents include environment management (pollution), waterways, fisheries, and water resources incidents. For each reported incident they assess the risk and likely impact and then respond accordingly.

Not all incidents reported result in site attendance, a response can be provision of advice and guidance remotely. The EA seeks to attend all serious pollution incidents (Category 1 and 2) which pose a significant risk to people or wildlife, and those incidents which could escalate to cause more serious impacts.

For example, in 2024, The EA attended 53 of 74 (72%) category 1 and 2 water industry incidents.