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

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Benyon (HL2226), how much compensation was awarded to victims of water pollution following a successful conviction by the Environment Agency in each of the last five years; and how much of any such compensation was awarded to consumers.

The Environment Agency (EA) does not administer compensation schemes to those affected by pollution or to water consumers.

An enforcement undertaking is a voluntary offer by an offender to put right the effects of their offending, its impact on third parties and to make sure it cannot happen again.

From 2017 to 2021 (inclusive), the EA accepted 63 enforcement undertakings from the main water and sewerage companies based in England, averaging a £181,690.21 pay-out for each.

The total value of these enforcement undertakings was approximately £11.5 million.

Where it is not possible to fully restore any environmental damage then the offer needs to include some form of environmental benefit or improvement or compensation for damage to the natural capital, for example, money for a project to improve river quality following a water pollution incident.