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

To ask His Majesty's Government what recompense is available to customers of water companies that have disposed of sewage unlawfully or unsafely through the repeated discharge of sewage into rivers and other watercourses.

Pollution incidents from water companies are unacceptable, we require annual plans to reduce incidents and strengthen accountability, and our regulators will not hesitate to act. A company that underperforms compared to their agreed performance commitment level may pay a financial penalty as an underperformance payment returned in customer bills