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

To ask His Majesty's Government whether, in the light of media reports regarding United Utilities and its interactions with the Environment Agency, they have confidence in the integrity of the current process for registering water pollution events.

The Government is clear that the volume of sewage being discharged into our waters in unacceptable. That is why our Plan for Water sets out more investment, stronger regulation, and tougher enforcement to tackle pollution and clean up our water.

Alongside this, our Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan (copy attached) sets clear and specific targets for water companies, regulators and the Government, to work towards the long-term ambition of eliminating ecological harm from storm overflows.

We have increased the number of storm overflows monitored across the network: in 2010 only 7% were monitored, and now 100% are being monitored.

Additionally, we have legislated to introduce unlimited penalties on water companies who breach their environmental permits and expand the range of offences to which penalties can be applied, giving the Environment Agency the tools, they need to hold water companies to account.

Since autumn 2017, the Environment Agency has concluded two successful criminal prosecutions of United Utilities and accepted 10 Enforcement Undertakings, requiring the company to pay over £2 million to environmental charities.