Water Companies: Prosecutions
(asked on 20th October 2026) - View Source
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many breaches of permit conditions by water companies (1) are recorded, (2) are investigated, and (3) result in prosecution.
Answered by
Baroness Hayman of Ullock
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 30th October 2026
In 2025/26, the Environment Agency completed 10,880 compliance inspections, identifying over 3,100 non-compliant sites and 5,200 permit breaches. Taking proportionate action according to severity, serious cases are considered for enforcement. While 2025/26 cases will not yet have resulted in prosecution, since 2024, 16 water-company prosecutions secured fines totalling £25,260,815.67.