Thank you for contacting me about sewage.
Let me be clear that sewage in our rivers is unacceptable. I am committed to tackling storm overflows and protecting public health and the environment from discharges.
The last Government made progress in addressing storm overflows. When Labour was last in Government in 2010, just 7 per cent of storm overflows were monitored. To put it another way, 93 per cent of sewage discharges were happening with no oversight and no accountability whatsoever. The only reason we now know the scale of the problem is because, under the last Government, monitoring was increased to 100 per cent in 2023.
Furthermore, while the current Government has tried to rewrite history to announce £104 billion of ‘new’ investment from the water sector, £93 billion of that investment plan had already been submitted by water companies in October 2023.
As you may be aware, the Government's independent review of the water industry was published on 21 July 2025. The review outlines 88 recommendations, and represents one of the most detailed examinations of the water sector since privatisation.
Indeed, there is much in it that I cautiously welcome, including the merger of the regulators. To echo the comments made by my colleague, Robbie Moore MP, Shadow Defra Minister, in response to the publication, His Majesty's Official Opposition stands ready to work with the Government on serious reform. We will support any action that genuinely holds water companies to account, delivers cleaner waters and protects the public from paying the price of corporate failure.
However, disappointingly, since entering office the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has watered down the ambition set by the last Government. For example, the Government has announced that it will cut sewage spills by 50 per cent by 2030 against 2024 levels. However, plans submitted by the last Government were already set to cut sewage spills by 45 per cent against 2021 levels, a tougher reference base. The Government’s new pledge would therefore actually see an additional 20,000 discharges of sewage in our rivers, compared with existing plans. The Secretary of State has failed to explain why, after 88 recommendations and a year-long review of the sector, he has watered down sewage reduction targets rather than massively ramping them up.
Finally, to further mislead the public, the Government is claiming that this Government introduced a ban on bosses’ bonuses. That is simply incorrect. The previous Government introduced the ban on bosses’ bonuses, which the current Government needlessly restated in the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025. Criminal investigations into water companies are directly a result of the last Government’s action in introducing this measure and quadrupling the number of water company inspections.
The Government will be held to account for its record in tackling sewage spills and reducing storm overflows. However, after a year in office, I am extremely concerned that the Government has made almost no new progress on the issue.
