Contributions
1,387 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDWater Company PerformanceI am not going to disagree with the hon. Gentleman that the discharges are unacceptable, but I would also like to say that it is because of what the Government are doing and…21 Feb 2023HANSARDWater Company PerformanceI clearly understand the concern among the public. I count myself as one of them. I have said many times, as have other Ministers, that sewage in water is unacceptable. But let us…21 Feb 2023HANSARDWater Company PerformanceClearly I do not agree with the hon. Gentleman. The water companies have invested billions of pounds since privatisation—£120 billion—and they will invest a further £56 billion up…21 Feb 2023HANSARDWater Company PerformanceIf I might say, the hon. Gentleman is a fine one to talk. I believe the water Minister in the coalition was a Liberal Democrat: what exactly did he do? It is this Government who…21 Feb 2023HANSARDWater Company PerformanceIf the hon. Gentleman had been listening earlier, he would have heard me say that we are consulting on plans to raise the cap on fines to £250 million, to make it quicker and…21 Feb 2023HANSARDWater Company PerformanceThere is a clear compensation scheme, as my hon. Friend will know, and that will be being looked at by his water company. I urge him to press for that. If he wants my involvement…21 Feb 2023HANSARDWater Company PerformanceMy hon. Friend is a tremendous campaigner for Southend and I would be happy to meet with her and the head of Anglian Water to push that forward.21 Feb 2023HANSARDWater Company PerformanceMy hon. Friend raises an important point about housing supply and the suitability of our water supply system. I have been in close communication with the Department for Levelling…21 Feb 2023HANSARDWater Company PerformanceIt is so easy to just stand there with no facts and no detailed information, and level an attack. I agree, as does the Secretary of State, that sewage in water, unacceptable…21 Feb 2023HANSARDWater Company PerformanceThere is already a comprehensive system of enforcement. As I said, we are now consulting on the £250 million potential cap and what might be the realistic cap, to really make a…21 Feb 2023HANSARDWater Company PerformanceWe have a regulator. Its job is to regulate the water companies. The Government sent a very strong policy statement to Ofwat to direct the water companies on a whole range of…21 Feb 2023HANSARDWater Company PerformanceI thank my right hon. Friend for reiterating the situation that we have just witnessed with Southern Water, which was completely and utterly unacceptable, particularly following…21 Feb 2023HANSARDWater Company PerformanceI thank my hon. Friend for that point. In 2019, transparency became much more critical in Ofwat’s holding the water companies to account, because it had to agree, in the price…21 Feb 2023HANSARDWater Company PerformanceI thank my hon. Friend for that and I could not agree with her more. She is a strident campaigner for the beautiful environment in which she lives, and our bathing water status…21 Feb 2023HANSARDWater Company PerformanceFirst, I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Romsey and Southampton North (Caroline Nokes) for bringing the matter of ensuring that water companies are performing adequately…21 Feb 2023HANSARDWater Company PerformanceThank you, Mr Speaker. I want to be clear that where water and sewage companies are found to be breaking the law, there will be substantial penalties. We have increased all our…21 Feb 2023HANSARDWater Company PerformanceThe hon. Member forgets that since privatisation £120 billion has been invested by the water companies in the critical infrastructure that we need not only to provide clean and…21 Feb 2023HANSARDWater Company PerformanceI thank my hon. Friend for those sensible points. To be honest, it is because of the monitoring this Government have put in place that we now know what is going on. Under the…21 Feb 2023HANSARDWater Company PerformanceIf the hon. Lady had been listening, I did say that pollution—which is a range, not just sewage but phosphates, nitrates and pollution from old mines—is unacceptable, and that is…21 Feb 2023HANSARDAir Pollution: Funding for Local AuthoritiesToday we announced our award of £10.7 million in funding to local authorities in England to help them tackle air pollution in their areas. Across 44 different projects, we are…09 Feb 2023