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

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park on 9 November (HL3061), whether the number of spillages from United Utilities treatment plans into (1) Lake Windermere, and (2) Lake Grasmere, are expected to reduce further in (a) 2021, and (b) in subsequent years.

In the last Asset Management Plan (AMP) cycle (2015-2020), United Utilities (UU) delivered a number of schemes in the Lake District to reduce spills into Windermere and other lakes. UU also made improvements to reduce the frequency of storm spills into Lake Windermere from Glebe Road pumping station and into Lake Grasmere from Grasmere Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW). As a result, the number of storm spills from Glebe Road and Grasmere WWTW was reduced significantly in 2020, and these improvements should be maintained in future years.

The Environment Agency is currently looking at the most recent data to determine if further interventions are required.