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

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to introduce specific legal protection for chalk streams.

Chalk Streams will be prioritised as part of the record £11 billion of investment to improve nearly 3,000 storm overflows in England and Wales during Price Review 2024, with 75% of such High Priority Sites needing to be improved by 2035 and the rest by 2045. By 2050, we expect no storm overflow spill to cause any adverse ecological harm and spill no more than 10 times per year.

The Government is committed to securing better environmental outcomes alongside securing the development we need and is considering how best to reform environmental assessment processes with this objective in mind.