Emma Hardy MP: speeches

Speeches

• 10 Feb 2026 · Independent Water Commission: Final Report · Hansard source

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  I turn now to regulation and the case for establishing a new single water regulator. As mentioned, that has to go alongside continuing what we have at the moment. Fundamental reform of water regulation is required, bringing together the economic and environmental planning, and looking at a singular accountable improvement body and enabling a whole-firm view of water company performance. The Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron), called it phase 2 or round 2 —I am not sure what the right phrase is, but we will be back with further legislation. This is absolutely what we need. We are looking at a chief engineer being embedded in the new regulator, ensuring companies focus on fixing crumbling pipes, treatment works and on engineering expertise—it is shocking that we have not had engineering expertise. We are looking at greater stability, transparency and protection for customers. Until then, existing regulators must retain their full legal powers and responsibility. However, the Government are determined to ensure that the future regulator does not inherit the problems of the past. Leadership appointments for the new regulator, including a chair designate, will therefore be made at the earliest opportunity, and they will drive the design and direction of the new regulator to support a smooth transition. Before that, early steps are now being taken to look at joining up regulatory activity, particularly between Ofwat and the Environment Agency, until the new regulator is established.

• 10 Feb 2026 · Independent Water Commission: Final Report · Hansard source

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  I will, but I would like to say— I hope this is felt by all Members across the House—that I am extremely accessible as a Minister and always willing to meet people, so I do not like having my integrity questioned. The hon. Gentleman should know that I responded to a letter from him on that very issue on 12 January. If he has not received it, he is welcome to come and see me, but to imply that I have ignored his request is false.

• 10 Feb 2026 · Independent Water Commission: Final Report · Hansard source

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  With respect to the hon. Lady, I do not believe that she was in this debate from the start.

• 10 Feb 2026 · Independent Water Commission: Final Report · Hansard source

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  Thank you. Where was I? We are putting customers first. We want to end the steep, huge hikes that we have seen in bills and make sure that that never happens again. We have introduced our customer panels. We have just seen the first of those happening in South West Water, and they are being run by the Consumer Council for Water. We are listening to customer voices and making sure that they are at the heart of water companies. We need to do more. The water ombudsman will help to restore the balance, but fundamentally, we want customers to feel that they are listened to, are at the heart of this and are important. Having the customer panels and strengthening the ombudsman will make the processes around customers’ experiences much better. On bills, we are about to respond to our consultation on WaterSure. How do we make water more affordable for people with disabilities, with large families, and for people who have a health need and therefore need to use more water? We are doubling the social tariff support and holding companies to the commitment to end water poverty by 2030. Water meters were mentioned, and they can help huge numbers of people save money. I encourage everybody to talk to their constituents about that. I remember speaking to an elderly lady who was on her own, and she told me that she was really worried that her bill would go up with a water meter. I said, “How many bedrooms do you have?” She said, “Three. It is a family home, but the kids have moved out.” I told her that her bill would be less if she got a water meter. The great thing about water meters is that they can not only save money, but help us think about our water use, and they can support the environment. There is a section in the White Paper on water security—it is an important issue for us—that looks at making sure we deal with the growing demands being placed on our system. How much water do we need for the homes that we want to build and for businesses and growth? How much water do we have? How do we address the gap? There are exciting things around thinking about sustainable urban drainage, water use, building regulations and how we use grey water harvesting. All these things must inform our thinking. In fact, tomorrow I am talking to the Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee about drought, and water management is one thing that is related. This Government are committed to delivering lasting change, restoring confidence and ensuring resilient, sustainable water systems that work for customers, the environment and future generations.

• 10 Feb 2026 · Independent Water Commission: Final Report · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Jeremy. I thank the hon. Member for West Dorset (Edward Morello) for securing this debate, and I am grateful to everybody who has spoken in it. I welcome the hon. Member for Mid Bedfordshire (Blake Stephenson) to his place. I enjoyed listening to his first contribution from the Front Bench. Before I get into the debate about water, I want to say a few words about flooding. There is obviously still a major incident classification in Somerset—I am going there after this debate—and that remains a concern. There are reports of flooding to about 300 properties, mostly in Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall. The Environment Agency flood defences have helped to protect about 16,200 properties from flooding, but it is still a difficult situation. There is still heavy rain across England, and it has continued in the south and south-west. I want to put on the record my thanks to the Environment Agency, the emergency services and everybody else, and I give my absolute sympathy and support to anybody impacted by the flooding. As a trade unionist, I echo the comments made by my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme (Lee Pitcher). The anger that the public feel towards water companies must never be directed at the people working for those companies, who are often the ones out there fixing the broken pipes and dealing with the sewer overflow. I remain concerned by reports from the unions about how they have been treated by some. Anger at the industry should never be directed at the people working for it. I am delighted to say that we have set out our vision for water through the White Paper, which was published last month. It outlines how we will work together with water companies, communities and the environment to transform our water sector and ensure a sustainable water system for future generations. It will drive forward the transformatory change that we need. I pay tribute to the passion of my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon) on this topic. She lobbies me not only publicly, but over coffee in the Tea Room and in the corridors, too. She is genuinely committed to this, and I thank her for her work. She is right to say that we have banned £4 million of bonuses, and she spoke about the Public Accounts Committee’s report, which highlighted regulatory failure. The White Paper mentions sustainable debt and what that might mean. The regulator is bringing the economic environment together. My hon. Friend rightly highlighted the need for skills; we are looking at how to appoint the people we need. She is right that statutorily those organisations need to continue to do their job and hold companies to account, but we need to create a shadow organisation working at the same time. Until we actually change the law, those organisations will still have all the powers. I look forward to meeting the hon. Member for North Herefordshire (Dr Chowns) to talk about the River Wye. I will come on to talk a little more about the environment. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase (Josh Newbury) for his work on the EFRA Committee. He is right that we need more of a joined-up approach. Asset health is a massive issue, as people in Tunbridge Wells know only too well. I was shocked when I came into this role and was told that companies do not even know where some of their assets are. That is absolutely basic. The right hon. Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn) and my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase talked about environmental pollution, which is a huge issue. On 27 January, I met members of DEFRA’s Addressing Pollution from Agriculture programme, which I have mentioned in this Chamber before. They include representatives from farming, environmental groups and water companies. My idea was to bring everybody together so that they could hear from one another—the environmentalists from the farmers, and the farmers from the water companies—on the question of how we are going to address the challenge of environmental pollution. For some farmers, I think there is a question around education and understanding the right way to do things. I do not think they go out there to cause pollution deliberately. The question is, how do we work with them to solve this issue? On 27 January, I met them side by side with the Farming Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Wallasey (Dame Angela Eagle), to talk to them about this issue. Every four weeks until the summer, they will meet to say, “What can we do about agricultural pollution as one of the main sources of pollution?” Rather than me talking to the environmentalists and the Farming Minister talking to the farmers, we prefer the collaborative approach of having everyone talking to one another about how we solve the problem. That is the approach we have taken. When there is more to say on the outcomes of the group, I will report that back to the House. I know that my hon. Friend the Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell) is passionate about this issue. In fact, my very first visit as Minister was to see the River Foss barrier. I am so pleased that she mentioned the issues around chemicals and the increasing awareness of PFAS—per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances—what is happening with chemicals and the need to look at the thresholds for levels of chemicals in the water. I will definitely ask the University of York to send me information on its Ecomix work and its AQuA project to see how it is doing that. My hon. Friend the Member for North West Leicestershire (Amanda Hack) brought to life horrific experiences of flooding and how devastating flooding is for people’s mental health. We need to look at what can be improved. Obviously, if there are any concerns about water companies not giving her the information on what will be improved in her area and where, I am more than willing to follow up on that. People who know me know that I get very excited about regional planning, and this Chamber is the place to be excited about regional planning. The White Paper talks a bit about what we are going to do, but I will give Members a heads up on what I am doing tomorrow: I have the first meeting of the steering group looking at regional planning. The group comprises catchment partnerships, the Environment Agency, local authorities, Ofwat, National Highways—of course, one of the concerns with water pollution is run-off from our highways—the NFU, Wildlife and Countryside Link, water companies, the Rivers Trust, Blueprint for Water and internal drainage boards. I have probably missed one. We are bringing everybody together to determine where around the country we will have the early roll-out of out some of these measures. We want to determine how Sir Jon Cunliffe’s regional planning model will apply to different catchments, depending on whether they are coastal and whether they include rivers, and how this will work in practice. I cannot remember which Member it was, but someone said that we do not seem to be in favour of nature-based solutions. Clearly, they have never heard me talk about my passion for nature-based solutions, because that is simply not true. The idea is that we are looking at the pre-pipe stuff—the nature-based solutions—in regional areas. In different areas around the country, those boards will have slightly different compositions, depending on the type of catchment.

• 5 Feb 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend raises a really important point. He will have noticed that we published the PFAS—perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances—plan earlier this week, which looks at the issues of chemical pollution and how we can tackle it more effectively. We recognise the serious concerns at Tideswell brook. Through our water White Paper we are reforming waste water regulation and enabling earlier interventions. I will be keeping a close eye on the situation as it develops.

• 5 Feb 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I can hear the hon. Gentleman’s passion and how upset he is about the devastating impact that repeated flooding has had on his community. We are putting a record amount of money into flood defences and will continue to do so. We are also looking at how we can work more effectively with other agencies in the area. I share his concern that, over the next weeks, it will continue to be quite wet. I give thanks to the emergency services and everybody involved.

• 5 Feb 2026 · Flood Preparedness · Hansard source

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  We recently produced a report, through Peter Bonfield, called “FloodReady”, which was exactly about how we incentivise more people to get property flood resilience. It was about working with contractors, manufacturers and everybody involved in the industry to make this a mainstream option for more people. I highly recommend that the hon. Lady has a look at that report; I hope that she and her constituents find it really useful.

• 5 Feb 2026 · Flood Preparedness · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady raises a really important point—I have been following the situation really closely, and it is devastating. She is quite right to point out the trauma and upset caused by flooding. We invested £80 million in Somerset between April 2024 and March 2025 on flood and coastal risk management, and we will allocate another £75 million to Somerset between April 2025 and March 2026. I will check whether my diary aligns so that I can make an earlier visit.

• 5 Feb 2026 · Flood Preparedness · Hansard source

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  I want to begin by sending my deepest sympathy to everybody impacted by recent flooding; having your home or business flooded is devastating. I pay tribute to the emergency services, the Environment Agency and the communities and volunteers who have stepped up to keep people and communities safe. The latest intelligence I have is that the weather warning remains yellow across much of the south-west. We will keep a close eye on that today.

• 5 Feb 2026 · Flood Preparedness · Hansard source

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  I join my hon. Friend in paying tribute to the fantastic work of the internal drainage boards in managing water levels, reducing flood risks and supporting communities, businesses and farmers alike. Of course, we are working hard on our statutory instrument. I am sorry that I cannot give him an exact date, but I can guarantee that it is something I am committed to doing.

• 5 Feb 2026 · Water Company Executives: Undisclosed Payments · Hansard source

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  The Conservative Government allowed millions of pounds to be diverted from essential investment and used for unjustified bonuses. We are clear that executive pay must reflect company performance, and support Ofwat’s plan to consult on requiring companies to report publicly the details of all executive remuneration.

• 5 Feb 2026 · Water Company Executives: Undisclosed Payments · Hansard source

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  With respect, I think the hon. Gentleman has just made the case for why mutualising water companies is not the answer on performance. This Government have already banned more than £4 million in unfair bonuses, which have been blocked by Ofwat for 2024-25.

• 5 Feb 2026 · Water Company Executives: Undisclosed Payments · Hansard source

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  This situation baffles me. It seems simple to me that bonuses should reflect performance, and if performance is not good enough, people should not get a bonus. I am not sure why that seems so difficult to understand. It is not just about the letter of the law, but about the spirit of the law. Ofwat has exposed serious transparency failings across the water sector, and we are therefore tightening transparency rules to shut down any attempt to dodge the bonus ban.

• 5 Feb 2026 · Water Bills · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady is absolutely right. I am a huge champion of water meters, which not only help with bills but help reduce people’s water use. In turn, that helps with abstraction, especially in areas where we have many chalk streams. I am very keen to look at what more can be done in that space. Ofwat has a water efficiency fund, through which it is looking at innovative ways in which we can talk to the public and get them to understand, as the hon. Lady rightly said, the benefits of having a water meter, not only for their bills but for the environment.

• 5 Feb 2026 · Water Bills · Hansard source

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  I share my hon. Friend’s concern about the ability of so many people in both our constituencies to afford water bills. That is why, over the next five years, water companies are going to be doubling the number of people getting help through social tariffs. We have also reformed WaterSure, which provides support to people with disabilities who might require more water use, or those who might require it for various other medical reasons. We are focused on making sure that the most vulnerable in all our communities are able to get the water they need at a price that is affordable for them.

• 5 Feb 2026 · Water Bills · Hansard source

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  People have every right to be frustrated about bill rises—years of neglect and under-investment have left our water infrastructure crumbling, and those increases now show the cost of putting that right. This Government are focused on tackling the cost of living, preventing those huge bill increases from ever happening again by fundamentally changing the system, and protecting the most vulnerable by strengthening schemes such as the guaranteed service standards and WaterSure.

• 5 Feb 2026 · Sustainable Drainage Systems · Hansard source

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  I am happy to go on to talk about SuDS, but I wanted to address why there is a collective self-interest in everybody getting involved in this, because it will help to reduce pollution. That is why it was a key part of the White Paper. Speaking personally, as someone who loves nature, this is also an opportunity to increase nature in different areas. These pre-pipe solutions do not have to be concrete tanks; they can be somewhere that is quite beautiful. We want to maximise the opportunities offered by better managing rain and looking at where it lands. It is estimated that the average household roof collects 85,000 litres of rainwater every year—obviously a little more in your constituency, Mrs Barker, and a fair bit in Hull as well, but a little less elsewhere—which is equivalent to an estimated 4 trillion litres annually across the UK, or 1.6 million Olympic-sized swimming pools. We are therefore thinking about not just SuDS or pre-pipe solutions, but rainwater management. There are many different things we can do. That is why we want to work together with other stakeholders including water companies, environmental groups, local authorities and developers to come up with how we can collectively achieve this ambition. On sustainable drainage, it is quite right to point out that the 2010 Act was never fully enacted by the coalition or the Conservative Government. SuDS are vitally important for sustainable development. They help to reduce additional pressure on the sewage system by up to 87%. I am a huge fan, and have spoken quite often about my love for sustainable urban drainage. They can also enable growth: a SuDS retrofit programme in London created the additional headroom for 116,000 new homes. Since we came into Government, our record on SuDS is that in December 2024, we made changes to the national planning policy framework to support increased delivery of SuDS, so that it now requires all developments to utilise SuDS where they could have drainage impacts, and requires those systems to be appropriate to the nature and scale of the development. In June 2025, the Government introduced new national standards, making it clear that SuDS should be designed to cope with changing climate conditions, because whenever we do anything now in this country, we need to have our minds on how our climate is changing, and make sure that we are resilient for the future. SuDS should also deliver wider water infrastructure benefits in the form of flood prevention, storm overflow reduction and reuse opportunities—but of course there is more that we need to do. As I say, some time has passed since the 2010 Act was enacted, and it is important that we consider the most efficient and effective way of securing its objectives. We currently think that that could be through changes to planning policy and adoption and maintenance, which I will come on to, rather than commencing schedule 3. With that in mind, we have been tightening national planning policy on this important issue. We are consulting on a new national planning policy framework at present, which adds the requirement that sustainable drainage systems are designed in accordance with the new national standards, to provide a consistent basis for their design and implementation. Additionally, we are consulting on legislative and policy options to reduce the prevalence of unadopted estates and the injustices associated with them, including for SuDS. On 18 December last year the Government published two consultations, one on enhanced consumer protections for homeowners on privately managed estates and another on reducing the prevalence of estate management arrangements. We continue to collaborate with industry leaders and, since data has been mentioned, I note that we are supporting the development of a new rainwater management platform, which will provide digital tools to support the delivery of high-quality SuDS. We are working with the industry body CIRIA—the Construction Industry Research and Information Association—to better understand the challenges around property-level SuDS and rainwater harvesting. Subsequent guidance will support industry to deliver in line with our recently published national standards for SuDS and will be publicly available. To ensure the longevity and proper maintenance of SuDS, we are scoping options for maintenance funding mechanisms and the methodology for calculating maintenance costs. We will publish guidance later this year, which will support the delivery of SuDS in line with the new national standards. I will answer some of the questions on maintenance. We recognise the challenges relating to the adoption and maintenance of SuDS and how that can impact communities, so we are committed to ensuring they are well maintained. As I mentioned, we issued standards in June ’25, and in support of those we are currently conducting research into the funding of SuDS maintenance. We are looking with industry and experts at different funding mechanisms as well as the methodology for calculating maintenance costs. To ensure that SuDS are provided and maintained as part of a new development, section 106 agreements can be used to provide for the maintenance of SuDS over their lifetime, where the statutory test is met. We are consulting on a new national planning policy framework to require SuDS to be designed in accordance with the new national standards, and a consultation that sets out that SuDS should have maintenance arrangements in place to ensure an acceptable standard of operation for the anticipated lifetime of the development—that is really important; it is not just about when it is built, but the lifetime of the development—building on the current requirement for those to be in place for major development proposals. The consultation is open until 10 March. I encourage Members and anyone interested to respond to that consultation. There has been mention of specialists and making sure that we have the people we need. We need skilled planners, including specialists in areas such as ecology and infrastructure—they are essential to making sure we have proactive planning services. We know that local planning authorities continue to face challenges in recruiting and retaining staff. Ultimately, it is up to local authorities who they employ and how they do so. Nevertheless, given how widespread those pressures are, the Government are significantly expanding support through the planning capacity and capability programme, including growing the graduate and mid-career pipeline, strengthening specialist training through the Planning Advisory Service and launching a new planning careers hub to open additional routes into the profession. We are trying to grow our own planners for the future, and looking at whether an increase to local authority funding for SuDS could be required. I hope all that helps to illustrate that this Government have not waited 14 years to deliver what the previous Government were attempting; we are getting on and delivering it now—from changes to the planning framework to ensuring that we have the talent we need, innovation, and working with others to find new ways to deliver the protection that our country needs. We are strongly committed to improving the implementation of SuDS; the actions I have outlined today are just the beginning and I look forward to working with all hon. Members in this room towards that goal.

• 5 Feb 2026 · Sustainable Drainage Systems · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mrs Barker. I thank the hon. Member for Newton Abbot (Martin Wrigley) for securing this important debate. I have enjoyed sitting through a debate in which there has been so much love for previous Labour policy, because, of course, it was the Labour party that introduced the 2010 Act that both the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives seemed so very keen to enact. I gently say that they had a mere 14 years—well, the Liberal Democrats had five—in which it could have been enacted. It falls to this Labour Government to tackle the issue of SuDS. Putting that to one side, as I said to the hon. Member for Glastonbury and Somerton (Sarah Dyke) earlier, my full sympathy and support go to everybody who has been impacted by flooding. It has been horrific, especially for the families, homes and businesses that are facing repeated flooding episodes. After today’s oral questions in the Chamber, I am considering how quickly I can come down and see the flooding for myself. I will pick that up with the hon. Lady, because it is really important. Lots of incredibly important points were raised in the debate. A point was made about why water companies would not be interested, but in fact they are. The reason why many of them are is because of what we call, when it comes to water, the pre-pipe solutions. To explain that more simply, if an awful lot of surface water ends up in the sewerage system, we end up with more storm overflow incidents, because the system becomes overloaded, water spills out into the rivers, lakes and seas, and then there are pollution incidents. There is, then, an incentive for water companies to be interested, because holding the surface water away prevents some of the pollution. There are some really good examples—admittedly in more urban areas—of that happening. A project in Mansfield involved Living with Water, the local authority, the Environment Agency and the council all working together. I am interested in looking at regional planning—this is in the White Paper—and how to bring together different interested parties in the same region to look at stopping the system becoming overloaded, which is one way of tackling pollution.

• 29 Jan 2026 · River Habitats: Protection and Restoration · Hansard source

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  I did walk into that, didn’t I? I thank my hon. Friend. If he wants to send that through to me, I will of course take a serious look at it. I am very keen to be getting out and about when it is a bit less wet—but rain should be what I am used to. Restoring the health of our rivers is fundamental to safeguarding nature, supporting resilient communities and securing our water environment for generations to come. The Labour Government are committed to delivering the most comprehensive programme of reform ever undertaken. It involves strengthening regulation, boosting enforcement, investing in innovation, supporting local partnerships and empowering farmers, land managers and water companies to play their part. From national action on agricultural pollution and chalk stream protections, to ambitious local projects in South Dorset, we are driving real, long-term improvements. Together, those measures demonstrate our unwavering commitment to cleaner water, thriving habitats and a healthier natural environment across England.

• 29 Jan 2026 · River Habitats: Protection and Restoration · Hansard source

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  I have seen the hon. Lady’s letter. I will get told off by officials for saying this, but I am basically looking at whether I can come back to the Wye and do something there with everybody. If not, we can do something in Parliament. I went to the Wye last year, and we announced our £1 million research fund to look at what is happening in the Wye. It would be quite nice to go back and see what has been happening. It is on my radar, and I will get her a proper answer in writing. As Making Space for Water highlights, it is crucial to connect river habitats at the catchment scale. I emphasise the importance of catchment partnerships to improving water quality and restoring natural processes. The partnerships are well established and effective in co-ordinating local collaboration and delivering projects with multiple benefits. They include the Dorset Catchment Partnerships, which is leading work on the River Wey and other Dorset rivers to improve water quality, reduce run-off and restore natural flows. This is why, earlier this month, we announced that we are investing £29 million from water company fines into local projects that clean up our environment, including doubling our funding for catchment partnerships, providing them with an extra £1.7 million per year over the next two years. As my hon. Friend the Member for North East Hertfordshire (Chris Hinchliff) said, it is essential that we support and pay tribute to the growing number of grassroots organisations and the work they do to protect our natural environment. Doubling funding for catchment partnerships should help them to continue to do that work. That is part of the Government’s commitment to giving communities greater influence over water environment planning and decision making. Fundamentally, communities know their water areas the best. Through our increased funding, we expect to support more than 100 projects that will improve 450 km of rivers, restore 650 acres of natural habitats and plant 100,000 new trees. The additional funding is expected to attract at least a further £11 million from private sector investment, resulting in even greater benefit for local communities in all hon. Members’ constituencies. Restoring chalk streams—another of my favourites—is a core ambition of our water reforms. We are home to 85% of the world’s chalk streams. As the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Tiverton and Minehead, said, we are one of the only places that has so many of them. They are home to some of our rarest, and keystone, species, such as the Atlantic salmon. As the Making Space for Water campaign rightly highlights, protecting keystone species is key to healthy rivers and streams. I could say so much more, but I am conscious that I have been talking for 14 minutes, so I will move on.

• 29 Jan 2026 · River Habitats: Protection and Restoration · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure, Ms Butler, to serve under your chairwomanship in Westminster Hall for the first time. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset (Lloyd Hatton) for securing this debate and for all the passion, care and interest that he has consistently shown in this issue. I share his excitement about the wild beaver release. I was quite jealous that my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry East (Mary Creagh), the Minister for nature, got to be there at the beaver release and I could not—I could not wangle an invite—but it was an incredible moment to see and truly exciting. I agree with so much of what my hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset said about how protecting and restoring our river habitats is one of the most urgent environmental challenges we face. I loved the imagery given by my hon. Friend the Member for Brent West (Barry Gardiner) about seeing rivers as the lifeblood and living veins of our country. That is a wonderful, poetic way of explaining why they matter so much. I completely agree that they are not drains; they are places that are full of nature and full of life—but I would say that, of course, living near the River Humber. I know how important rivers are. However, communities see the problems that rivers face every day, through reduced water quality, declining biodiversity and rivers that are no longer the thriving ecosystems that they should be. Rivers are under pressure from multiple sources, as has been mentioned, including business activity, agriculture, waste water treatment, urban development, recreation, transport and, of course, the growing impacts of climate change, which have quite rightly been mentioned. These combined pressures have directly contributed to declining water quality and the loss of freshwater biodiversity across many catchments. That is why we are committed to delivering the most ambitious programme of water reform in decades, including by strengthening regulation, which will definitely be done. Indeed, I can assure the hon. Member for Bridgwater (Sir Ashley Fox), the Opposition spokesman, that he will definitely see the transition plan, not just this year but, I can even say, early this year. In addition to strengthening regulation, we will improve oversight of the water system and ensure action across every source of pollution. That is all set out in the White Paper, which was published earlier this month. As has been mentioned, among key measures, we are establishing a single empowered regulator for the entire water industry, backed by a chief engineer—it is astounding that the water industry did not have a chief engineer before, but it has one now—to drive long-term planning, improve performance and, importantly, prevent problems before they occur. We have also committed to delivering an enhanced, better, joined-up regional water planning function, to help to identify lower-cost and high-impact solutions to improve water quality and supply, considering opportunities across the sectors. It was really interesting that my hon. Friend the Member for Brent West talked about catchment measures, looking at the entire river basin, and looking at how it is all interconnected. That is exactly my vision for the regional water planning function: to look at all the different impacts on that water body. I could not agree more about how important nature-based solutions are and what they can deliver. We have already had a change-around in how we address flooding, through the change in the flood funding formula— I would really like us to embrace that—but we have to be honest: if we are embracing nature-based solutions, we are also embracing an element of risk. They do not carry the same certainty as adding chemicals to something, which makes it possible to predict a certain outcome. Nature is not like that, but nature is powerful, and I want to see it used more. It was really interesting to listen to so many Members talk about the way that rivers have been engineered. I visited a beautiful chalk stream not too far from where I live, to see how it was done. These rivers were straightened, as has been said, and this is our industrial heritage. Many were straightened to power the mills that ground corn, or for navigation, and that is why they wanted to create straight channels. Let me say to the hon. Member for Tiverton and Minehead (Rachel Gilmour) that I love the word “rewiggling”—it is a great word. When we look at where we can rewiggle them, the hon. Member for North Herefordshire (Dr Chowns) was right that they can hold more water when they are rewiggled. They can literally create more space and protect more communities. On that point, I thank all the emergency services and everybody who has been involved in the response to Storm Chandra. My sympathy and support goes out to everyone who has been impacted. The latest update that I have had from the team is that the overall flood risk remains at “medium”. That means that rivers impact is probable in parts of south-west England today. I really hope that does not result in properties being flooded, although I accept that the impact on the farming community has already been huge. My hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Tom Hayes) always makes me smile. I love the fact that he is constantly championing his constituency and wants to protect and look after the people there who have faced such awful flooding, and he is quite right to call out poor behaviour wherever he sees it. I liked hearing about all the different schools. I love an eco-council group—they are just fantastic. Any Member who ever feels slightly jaded by politics—which, of course, would never, ever happen—should go and spend time with primary children. They will come away feeling so uplifted, because primary children are so passionate and they care so greatly, so good on all of them. I ask my hon. Friend to pass on my congratulations; I hope that they continue to challenge us, as we take all our work forward. As we have mentioned, we are also accelerating nature-based solutions, looking at where we can restore wetlands, reconnect floodplains and improve river corridors—that came up a lot, and quite rightly so: how do we make river corridors to create healthier, more resilient catchments? That work is happening alongside the reform of regulatory powers, cracking down on poor performance, improving transparency and ensuring that the polluter pays. For the first time, our river systems will be managed in a fully integrated way, ensuring that every sector, including agriculture, plays its part in restoring the health of our waterways—I also welcome the hon. Member for Bridgwater to his place. That work builds on some of the work we have done through the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025. Our revised environmental improvement plan has been mentioned, and that has ambitious Environment Act biodiversity targets, including to “restore or create more than 500,000 hectares…of wildlife-rich habitat outside protected sites by 2042”. Creating and restoring river habitats and wetlands will be vital to achieving that. I really enjoyed the launch of Making Space for Water, which I thought was a fantastic event. There was so much passion and willingness to collaborate in that room. Making Space for Water calls for incentives for land managers to help to create nature-friendly river corridors through the ELM scheme, as my hon. Friend the Member for Brent West mentioned—I will get him a response from the Minister for farming on some of the more specific details. Through those schemes, we include specific actions in the sustainable farming initiative, which pays farmers for establishing and managing buffer strips beside watercourses. We also agree with Making Space for Water that it is important to reconnect rivers to floodplains, restoring natural processes and enhancing biodiversity. There are two pilot rounds in the landscape recovery scheme that we are looking at, and we have provided 56 projects with development grants to support farmers, landowners and environmental organisations in developing strategies for long-term nature recovery. Collectively, these projects aim to restore 600 km of rivers, helping to reconnect rivers to their floodplains. The hon. Member for North Herefordshire speaks with passion and knowledge about agriculture pollution. She is quite right that it is one of the most significant contributors to pollution in our rivers, affecting over 40% of our water bodies. Agriculture pollution, including nitrogen, nutrients and soil or sediment run-off, has a profound impact on the health of freshwater environments and the biodiversity that depends on them. Under the Environment Act, we have set a clear long-term target to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment from agriculture entering the water environment by 40% by 2038. There are various means by which we want to achieve that. We committed in the White Paper to simplifying and improving the regulatory framework for agriculture, developing a single robust, England-wide regulation and, where necessary, strengthening standards. We are doubling funding for the Environment Agency’s farm inspection and enforcement team, enabling at least 6,000 inspections a year by 2029, and we are strengthening local advice through our catchment-sensitive farming, as well as through the new £30 million farmer collaboration fund, which we announced earlier this month at the Oxford farming conference. Just this week—in fact, just yesterday; I am losing track of which day is which—I held a roundtable with farming representatives, not just the NFU but people from different farming sectors, alongside environmental organisations and water company representatives, to talk about the problem of agricultural pollution. The reason I wanted everyone in the same room is not just that I wanted everyone to hear the message I was giving, but that I wanted everybody to hear from everybody else: the water companies could hear from the environmentalists and the farmers; the farmers could hear from the environmentalists; and the environmentalists could hear from the farmers. Everyone could gain an understanding of one another’s points of view and how we are going to work on this together. During that meeting, I announced that we had launched the consultation on reform of how sewage sludge is regulated in agriculture. The consultation document, which went live this week, looks at the option of an environmental permitting regime, as recommended by the Independent Water Commission. That group of people has been working together on the issue of agriculture pollution. We brought together different stakeholders, and there was much consensus and much willingness to tackle the issue. It is far better that we try to do something collectively; farmers, environmentalists and water companies working together is the best way to tackle this. That work continues.

• 20 Jan 2026 · Water (Special Measures) Act 2025: Enforcement · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Allin-Khan. I thank the hon. Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Tom Gordon) for securing this debate. I am particularly delighted he has done so today—great timing—since today we have published our new vision for water. These are once-in-a-generation reforms to our water system, delivering tough oversight and real accountability, and putting an end to water company excuses. This Labour Government are doing away with water companies marking their own homework and are holding them firmly to account. From an MOT-style approach for water companies’ pipes and pumps to no-notice inspection powers, we are creating a system where customers get the service they deserve and bosses have nowhere to hide. We have already taken tough action on the worst performing water companies, while protecting customers by doubling compensation for those impacted by supply interruptions. There are a few more treats included in today’s White Paper, among them a new chief engineer to bring technical expertise to the new regulator for the first time in 20 years; new performance improvement regimes, so that any water companies falling behind in finances, environmental standards, drinking water quality or operations will face tough consequences; and dedicated supervisory teams to replace the current one-size-fits-all approach and give the new single regulator a thorough understanding of how each company operates; no-notice inspections; mandatory water efficiency labelling; accelerated roll-out of smart meters; regional planning to bring together councils, water companies, farmers and developers to deliver joined-up plans to tackle river pollution, water resources and housing growth; and senior accountability to ensure water bosses are directly accountable for the service that customers receive.

• 20 Jan 2026 · Water (Special Measures) Act 2025: Enforcement · Hansard source

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  I have huge sympathy and support for the hon. Lady and her constituents in the situation that they have faced in the last few weeks and I understand the urgent need for compensation, not just for her residents, but many of the neighbouring constituencies. She mentioned that it is the first time that Ofwat has ever done an investigation into whether a company is still complying with its licence to operate. It is looking at the customer part of the operation licence to see whether or not the company is complying; that is the first time that has ever been done. The Consumer Council for Water is visiting the Tunbridge Wells area to hear direct testimony from people about how they have been treated and how the situation has impacted them. I share the love expressed in the Chamber for the Drinking Water Inspectorate, particularly for Marcus Rink and all the work he does, and the inspectorate is looking carefully into that matter as well. One of the things that we promised in the Water (Special Measures) Act were powerful new customer panels to ensure that customers are at the heart of company governance. Some first accountability sessions will be held in spring 2026, requiring customers’ views to be taken into account in company decision making and allowing those customers to hold companies to account—one of the many things that was in that Act. While we are on the situation that the hon. Member for East Grinstead and Uckfield (Mims Davies) faced, I will mention the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells (Mike Martin), whom we spent rather a long time with over the last few weeks. It is outrageous; my heart sank when I saw Tunbridge Wells and its residents being impacted again after the awful situation that businesses faced in the run-up to Christmas. I am keen for them to receive compensation as quickly as possible. He is right to point out the concerns that we all had about the disinformation that was put out. The need for clear communication to everybody about what is happening is incredibly important. There are many things from the water White Paper that I would like to highlight. I hope we get a chance in Parliament over the coming weeks to look at some of that in more detail. There is a section on debt at the bottom of page 26 of the White Paper that states: “We will therefore consider how the regulator can work with companies and investors to ensure companies do not accumulate unmanageable levels of debt”. There is a direct reference to debt in the White Paper. It is also worth pointing out what it says in the section called “Putting Customers First”. Page 31 mentions “increasing public access to water for recreation and wellbeing”', something that I know my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase (Josh Newbury) is really interested in. That is because of the love that there is for the Tyne and how beautiful it is—we want to see people having access to it. The White Paper mentions the powerful new customer panels as well, and also looks at regulators strengthening the “customer measure of experience”. That is one of the metrics used to judge water companies and we want to strengthen that metric of experience. Another thing that comes up in debates on agricultural pollution is the effect that it has on the beautiful and stunning River Wye, and which I know is a huge source of concern for my hon. Friend the Member for Monmouthshire (Catherine Fookes). On page 35, we talk about how we will “consult on reforms on how sewage sludge use in agriculture is regulated and whether this should be included in the Environmental Permitting Regime..” One of the big focuses and challenges is what the difference would be, if these measures were all in place. One of the many key things is about prevention rather than cure—I know you will understand that analogy very well, Dr Allin-Khan. It is about getting companies to fix things before they break. Around the country, we have too many examples of things breaking before companies recognise that they should be fixed. The MOT work, the engineer and the resilience standards are all about understanding where the problems are and getting in there and fixing them first. Fundamentally, that is cheaper and better for customers, because it costs less to fix something before it breaks and creates a disaster somewhere.

• 20 Jan 2026 · Water (Special Measures) Act 2025: Enforcement · Hansard source

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  As the right hon. Gentleman has noted, I cannot speak about live investigations, but I will reflect on what he outlines. The hon. Member for Epping Forest (Dr Hudson) mentioned livestock and its importance, something that came up a lot during our many calls. Yes, we need adequate water for people, but there have also been many animals in distress. We will carry out pilots across the country to look at the new regional regulatory structure and how we are going to make it work. That is a massive opportunity for Members across the House to get involved. My hon. Friend the Member for Hexham (Joe Morris) was talking about rural communities being supported and ensuring that we have emergency provisions for livestock. In relation to the River Tyne in particular, I encourage him to speak to his water company and find out exactly when it will upgrade those storm overflows, so that he can see tangible progress in his area. We have also doubled the funding for catchment partnerships, which is great news where we have those, particularly in rural areas. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Monmouthshire for her work on the Bill Committee and for the work that she continues to do in championing the River Wye. She is quite right that rivers do not obey geographical boundaries, so we have to work together. I put on record my thanks to the Welsh Government for all the work they have done. We have worked together on many different measures and will continue to do so. I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase for his work on the EFRA Committee. He is right that there should be clear consequences for failure, and he will be pleased to know that following the Water (Special Measures) Act, the Environment Agency is on track to deliver 10,000 inspections in the year ’25-26. That is a massive increase on the previous year’s 4,600 inspections; we are more than doubling inspections of water companies. We are also doubling compensation because, sadly, we have seen that the doubling of compensation for customers who face supply outages or receive boil notices is desperately needed. I would like to be in a situation—as we will be when we implement all these measures—where we do not need to compensate customers because we are not continually seeing failure. But until that moment, I will continue to work hard, push on and deliver the changes that the industry so desperately needs.