Water Quality: Sewage Discharge

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I will make some progress and take some interventions later—[Interruption.] Hang on; your moment ...

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Order. May I say to the hon. Lady and the right hon. Gentleman that, yes, the hon. Member has to ...

Thank you, Mr Speaker—we’ve 12 months yet. I will take interventions once I have made progress on...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way, but I would like him to outline when he or the Labour ...

I welcome that intervention. I would also welcome an explanation to the hon. Lady’s constituents ...

I will make some progress.

This is an environmental hazard, a health hazard and an economic...

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. The hon. Member said that he came to visit Hastings and spoke to...

That is not a point of order, but I would say to the hon. Lady that, if somebody has been to her ...

I am very happy to look into that point. As a matter of course, we always ensure when visiting th...

I will take an intervention shortly from the Opposition Benches.

Mr Speaker, do you know th...

I thank my hon. Friend for giving way. My constituency is named after the River Weaver, which is ...

That is exactly what this debate is about: MPs who care about the places they represent standing ...

I do not think anyone would argue that we do not need to invest more in better water quality. Mor...

Honestly, I am staggered. I say that with respect to the Chair of the EFRA Committee. Our figures...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I have already given way once. Let me make some progress.

Last week, Labour published analy...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way. Will he acknowledge that the only reason he is able to...

I am not one to offer advice to those on the Government Benches, but I will just say this to eage...

Mr Seely, you are trying to catch my eye, but you will not do it by chuntering from that position...

Thank you, Mr Speaker. The hon. Lady will know that her own constituency has had nearly 2,000 sew...

I am going to make some progress.

The Government will blame everybody: the Victorians, devo...

One hundred years ago in St Helens we had chemical factories, coalmines, glassworks and no enviro...

That is a really good point. Many people think that this must be an issue that affects our seas a...

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I seek your guidance. The shadow Secretary of State may have ina...

Order. You will leave—

He is seeking to obfuscate responsibility—

Order. I have told you before, Mr Cairns, that when I stand up, I expect you to sit down. When I ...

I am not sure whether Parliament can do some sort of induction for Conservative Members on how Pa...

I will make some progress.

Conservative MPs should see this as a second chance, which every...

Will the shadow Secretary of State give way?

Let me make this point, because it ties in with following the money and tracking back to the impa...

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I will give way to the hon. Gentleman, as he has been persistent.

I note that the shadow Secretary of State’s paragraph on the Labour record was very short—perhaps...

I am not sure that was worth waiting for. The hon. Gentleman was so persistent that I thought a g...

Done.

One minute. That will mean that where a discharge station is not in place or is not working, the ...

The hon. Gentleman has made the fatal error of thinking that we are supporting the water companie...

The hon. Gentleman is definitely currying favour with the Conservative Whips Office, and I give h...

Does the hon. Member wish to respond to that point?

indicated dissent.

Okay. Carry on.

I will come straight to the point: had the Conservative Government, in their 13 years in office, ...

Will the hon. Gentleman answer my question now?

The hon. Gentleman can answer this question for his constituents: over the last 13 years, why has...

A lot of Members have put in to speak in the debate and they have a right to be heard, so I will ...

I beg to move an amendment, to leave out from

“an impact assessment of sewage discharges;”<...

Is my right hon. Friend slightly surprised by the tone that has been struck by the Opposition? Do...

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. The shadow Secretary of State is ambitious to take my j...

The complacency that the Secretary of State is displaying is frankly shocking. Not one English ri...

The hon. Lady should be aware that during the last decade we put in place legislation that made i...

Does my right hon. Friend agree that since the privatisation that has just been criticised, inves...

My right hon. and learned Friend is absolutely right. We are talking about sources of financing. ...

I listened to what the hon. Member for Oldham West and Royton (Jim McMahon) had to say, but under...

I think that is a polite way of describing what we heard.

Sewage overflows are not new. The...

Would my right hon. Friend be kind enough to clarify to the House that in most cases, and certain...

I agree. Facts are our friends in these matters, and it is important that we continue to ensure t...

The Secretary of State will know, having grown up in Liverpool, how beautiful the coastal constit...

Order. The hon. Lady is meant to be making an intervention, not a speech. It has to be brief.

I share with the hon. Lady a love for that part of the north-west. I grew up there, and I used to...

The constituency that I have the privilege of representing has the River Itchen and the River Ham...

Quite clearly, the answer is no. There would not have been the scrutiny that there is today, nor ...

Will the Secretary of State give way?

No, I will try to make a bit of progress.

After the many press releases, it is good finally...

Does the Secretary of State agree with Law Wales, which states that

“Senedd Cymru generally...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right, as is the person he quoted. This is a matter that is dealt wi...

When my right hon. Friend introduced legislation, it was clearly aimed at England, but did she gi...

Understandably, the Environment Act principally addresses England. It is important that we respec...

Further to the intervention from my hon. Friend the Member for Clwyd South (Simon Baynes), does t...

Well said.

East Devon residents are rightly disgusted by sewage in our waters, and so am I; I am glad that t...

I absolutely agree. We exercised the necessary foresight in drawing up the legislation that becam...

I have been listening intently to what the Secretary of State has had to say, and I admire her co...

I think I will be in Stratford-on-Avon in a few weeks, and I may well be able to find time to vis...

My father is a civil and structural engineer and I have engaged with him regularly on the subject...

My hon. Friend is wise in her years, and she is absolutely right. It is a case of trying to ensur...

I listened closely to the speech from the shadow Secretary of State, which I have to say was pret...

What can I say? When the right hon. and learned Member for Holborn and St Pancras (Keir Starmer) ...

The Secretary of State has just mentioned the important issue of water companies producing plans....

I can indeed give my hon. Friend that assurance. We will continue to ensure that the licence fees...

This is not just the responsibility of the water companies, because it is not just water assets t...

Order. We cannot have these long interventions, because too many Members want to speak. It is sim...

The hon. Gentleman has raised a very specific constituency matter. I am sure that if he were to w...

It is obvious that an awful lot of people want to speak this afternoon, so we will start with a t...

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I would like to apologise to the hon. Member for Oldha...

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for setting the record straight with that point of order, and I se...

indicated assent.

Let us continue with the debate.

1.52 pm

In September 2021, I stood in this place and called for an investigation into the activities of D...

Can the hon. Gentleman explain to the House why the recourse that we are expecting from the Labou...

I think the hon. Gentleman will have to refer that question to the Welsh Government, but I thank ...

I understand and share many of the concerns the hon. Gentleman has highlighted, but does he recog...

The right hon. Gentleman is probably enjoying my speech because he thinks that this is the respon...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Islwyn (Chris Evans). I welcome what he said about...

My right hon. Friend is making an extraordinarily important point about finding a balance between...

I will come on to that in a moment, but my hon. Friend makes the valid point that there is not en...

Parliament debated sewerage in the summer of 1858, during the great stink. In every respect, it b...

After the next speaker, the time limit will go down to three minutes.

2.8 pm

This is an important issue, and I agree with the hon. Member for Barnsley Central (Dan Jarvis) th...

The time limit has now reduced to three minutes.

2.12 pm

Pope Francis said in 2015 in his encyclical, “Laudato si”:

“The earth, our home, is beginni...

I am pleased to be here again with an opportunity to discuss this important issue. Improving wate...

We all dream of crystal-clear rivers winding their way through the beautiful British countryside,...

Order. I thank the hon. Lady.

2.21 pm

We all care about this issue. I am a Cornish MP and know more than anyone how difficult the issue...

Having discarded my carefully crafted speech, I will make just a few key points.

I think th...

We are here today thanks to the work of the Environmental Audit Committee—work that was largely l...

To be frank, for the past three or four years, my team and I have had to discuss excrement on an ...

Most colleagues on the Government Benches, myself included, have had a fair bit of what I like to...

Last year in my constituency there were 685 sewage spills, the total duration of which came to mo...

Gedling’s southern border is the River Trent between Colwick and Burton Joyce. It is popular with...

The shadow Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham West and Royton (Jim McMahon)...

I support ambitious targets for reducing sewage discharges; I support stronger regulation of the ...

The water industry is a classic illustration of the harms of privatisation and the contradiction ...

It is a pleasure to speak in this debate. The Opposition have attempted to pretend that the Gover...

We have the shameful situation where not one English river is classed as being in a healthy condi...

I stand with the people of beautiful Hastings and Rye, who are all quite rightly angry about the ...

Raw sewage is the perfect metaphor for 13 years of Tory Britain. It is hard to find an NHS dentis...

I think we can all agree that sewage flooding is revolting. Few people know this better than my c...

According to the Rivers Trust, in Salford alone, our waterways have been littered with thousands ...

I have previously spoken in this House about my beautiful constituency of South West Hertfordshir...

The River Mersey in the great north-west of England meanders through the heart of the region and ...

I am perplexed as to why we need another Bill on this topic, particularly when it is uncosted and...

It is a pleasure to speak in this debate. Before I start, I thank the Angling Trust, Surfers Agai...

I serve on the Welsh Affairs Committee, and we have had two evidence sessions discussing the situ...

It will come as no surprise to Members in the Chamber that I rise to support the Labour Front-Ben...

I am pleased to speak in this debate to make it clear again that the use of storm overflows is un...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for North West Norfolk (James Wild). Let me start with...

Another pointless debate from a pointless Opposition—that’s what I am thinking today. The last ti...

I would like to tell a tale of two announcements. We are used to reannouncements, where the Gover...

Across the country, our beaches and rivers, including the River Wey Navigation, are vital for the...

I call Bob Seely.

3.40 pm

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. [Interruption.] Has the hon. Member for Hove (Peter Kyle) finished?...

My hon. Friend raises the work that Southern Water is doing on the Isle of Wight. We have a Fairl...

Community schemes are a small part of this. People write to me and ask, what can a community sche...

Good water quality is something that everyone in Southend West takes extremely seriously. Our 1,0...

In Cumbria, it is our privilege to be the stewards not only of the fells and the dales, but of ou...

I will start on a positive note by thanking those who have actively engaged in this public health...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Unfortunately we have limited time, so I will make some progress.

My hon. Friend the Member...

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I give way to the hon. Gentleman, with whom I co-chair the all-party parliamentary group on Ukrai...

Earlier today, the hon. Member for Oldham West and Royton (Jim McMahon) made a truly dire attempt...

When Labour left office in 2010, the Environment Agency said that our rivers were the cleanest at...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I think that time is against us—yes, you are indicating that it is, Madam Deputy Speaker—so unfor...

I now call the Minister, and remind the House that the Front Benchers can speak for equal amounts...

The debate provides a welcome and much-needed opportunity to set the record straight on sewage an...

Will the Minister give way?

I am not going to give way, because there simply is not time.

I note that the hon. Member f...

We will vote first on the Government’s amendment, because the amendment simply deletes wording. S...

I remind Members that they really should follow their voices; I do not want to see a zero at the ...

On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. A little while ago, when Peter Tatchell came to visit me,...

I thank the right hon. Member for his point of order. I will raise this issue with the Serjeant a...