Yesterday I voted to back the next stage of the Government’s plan to tackle sewage pollution by further strengthening legal requirements under our landmark Environment Act. The Environment Act can be found here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2021/30/contents/enacted
Last August, the Government set out its plan which requires the largest infrastructure programme in water company history to tackle sewage overflows. The 60-page plan prioritises investments in priority sites including protected habitats and bathing waters. Since then, £1.6 billion investment has been brought forward to speed up vital water infrastructure projects, cutting thousands of overflow spills each year. Further information on the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan can be found here: https://www.mimsdavies.org.uk/news/mims-davies-mp-welcomes-publication-storm-overflows-discharge-reduction-plan
More detail on plans to tackle storm overflows – as well as pollution from all other sources, including agriculture, chemicals and microplastics, is set out the Plan for Water. More detail on the Plan for Water can be found here: https://www.mimsdavies.org.uk/news/mims-davies-mp-defra-announces-new-plan-water
Ministers also reconfirmed in the Chamber to the House, they will be unleashing unlimited penalties so that polluters pay for their impact on the environment, with funds now being reinvested into rivers and water bodies. Yesterday’s next step will place the target in the Sewage Overflow Reduction Plan on a statutory footing. The Plan will be put into law through the Environment Act 2021. It will make its costed and credible target to reduce storm overflows legally binding, in line with the Plan.
This will be backed by existing separate interim milestones for bathing waters and high priority nature sites. Further information on this can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/storm-overflow-target-to-be-enshrined-in-law
This is the first Government to require the roll out of storm overflow monitoring, with now almost 90% coverage. This will reach 100% cover by end of this year.
It is because of this monitoring – increased from just 7% by this Government - that we are able to take action to clean up our water.
It is also worth remembering that we have almost the highest-quality drinking water in the world, and 93% of our bathing waters are excellent.
Labour and the Liberal Democrats voted against ending sewage discharges and the Liberal Democrats have committed to introduce a tax on water companies which would take over 500 years to fund their sewage overflow plans. Social media is confusing and full of messages that support the Opposition’s narrative.
We are the only party with a clear, costed plan t0 deal with sewage overflows and tackle this serious issue. Nobody thinks sewage discharging into our rivers and seas is acceptable and we are delivering real change.
In opening the debate, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Thérèse Coffey MP, said: “We’ve brought forward stronger regulations, tougher enforcement and the largest water infrastructure programme in history – an expected £56 billion investment – and we will make fines unlimited so that the polluter always pays.”
In conclusion, Minister for Environmental Quality and Resilience, Rebecca Pow MP, said: “It was this Government who uncovered the scandal of storm sewage overflows being used far too frequently, because it was this party that increased the monitoring of storm sewage overflows. We have ramped it up from a paltry 7% under Labour to 91% now, and it will be 100% by the end of the year. Our plan for water sets out how we will deliver the improvements we need across all matters connected to water, including all forms of pollution.”
The full transcript of the debate can be found here: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2023-04-25/debates/E4C96653-FAC9-4AB7-A32B-7F5EA2423787/WaterQualitySewageDischarge