Written questions by Pinkerton.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to protect (a) wildlife and (b) plant life in heathland in Surrey Heath constituency.

The Government is committed to taking action to recover threatened native species across England and we have set four legally binding targets to drive recovery of biodiversity. The government has also concluded a rapid review of the existing Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP23) and published a statement of the key findings on 30 January 2025. We are developing a new EIP to protect and restore our natural environment, including delivery of our statutory biodiversity targets, which will be published later this year. Surrey County Council is the responsible authority for preparing the Surrey Local Nature Recovery Strategy, which covers Surrey Heath, and which will agree priorities for nature recovery in the area and identify and map the best locations for action to be taken to benefit nature and the wider environment. Defra has provided funding to responsible authorities to prepare their strategies, as well as dedicated advice and support from Natural England, the Environment Agency, and the Forestry Commission.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of requiring water companies to report on the volume of sewage discharged into rivers in Surrey Heath constituency.

This Government believes that it is important that we invest in the most appropriate type of monitors to ensure we gain valuable information on sewage discharges. Installing the type of monitor required to accurately measure the volume of a discharge is much more costly and provides limited additional insight into the impact of a discharge. It is important that we invest in reducing sewage discharges, as opposed to increasingly costly monitoring. Since 1 January 2025, water companies have been required to publish data related to discharges from all storm overflows within one hour of the discharge beginning. The Secretary of State has authorised Ofwat to carry out enforcement action for this duty, in accordance with the powers conferred under sections 18 and 141DA (4) of the Water Industry Act 1991. Ofwat’s enforcement powers provide for a wide range of enforcement activity, including substantial penalties. Ofwat is monitoring compliance with the duty to report relevant data in real time. Where it detects non-compliance, it will take appropriate enforcement action. In addition to this, the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 has introduced an equivalent duty for water companies to publish data related to discharges from all emergency overflows within one hour of the discharge beginning. Once commenced, this duty will be enforced in the same way. This will create an unprecedented level of transparency, enabling the public and regulators to see where, and how often, overflows are discharging, and hold water companies to account.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to (a) support recycling efforts and (b) develop recycling infrastructure in Surrey Heath constituency.

We are improving recycling services across England through our upcoming Simpler Recycling reforms, which will ensure that across England, people will be able to recycle the same materials, whether at home, work or school. Every household and workplace (businesses and relevant non-domestic premises like schools and hospitals) across England will be able to recycle the same materials in the following core waste streams: metal, glass, plastic, paper and card, food waste, and garden waste (for households only). Regarding recycling infrastructure, the Collection and Packaging Reforms – Simpler Recycling, Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (pEPR) and a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) – should guarantee a consistent supply of recyclable materials and increased income streams from pEPR. This should provide certainty, increasing investor confidence and unlocking investment in waste infrastructure. Defra is currently strengthening the evidence base regarding waste and recycling infrastructure needs and we will continue to work closely with key stakeholders including local authorities and waste management companies on this.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of environmental contamination caused by sewage discharges by water companies in Surrey Heath constituency.

For too long, water companies have discharged unacceptable levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas. That is why we are placing water companies under special measures through the Water (Special Measures) Bill. The Bill will drive meaningful improvements in the performance and culture of the water industry as a first important step in enabling wider, transformative change across the water sector. For Price Review 2024 (PR24), which runs from 2025 – 2030, Thames Water will invest £784 million to reduce the use of storm overflows including in and around the Surrey Heath constituency. Additional improvement actions also include increasing treatment capacity at sewage works, providing storage for high flows, reducing flows entering the system and provision of treatment for storm overflows which are separate from the main treatment route. There have been significant pollution incidents at Camberley and Chobham Sewage Treatment Works in the last few years and these are still subject to Environment Agency investigations. We will not let companies get away with illegal activity and where breaches are found, the EA will not hesitate to hold companies to account. The Environment Agency has also undertaken recent inspections of Sewage Treatment Works, including at Camberley, Lightwater and Chobham.

Food and Rural Affairs, what specific steps he is taking to (a) monitor and (b) mitigate the environmental impact of sewage spills on (i) waterways and (ii) broader ecosystems.

From 1 January 2025, water companies will be required to publish data related to discharges from all storm overflows within one hour of the discharge beginning (under section 141DA of the Water Industry Act 1991 as inserted by section 81 of the Environmen...

Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will take steps to ban bottom trawling in marine protected areas.

It is essential to manage bottom trawling in our Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) appropriately due to the significant damage it can have on protected seabed habitats. 60% of England’s MPAs have bottom trawling restrictions already. The department is conside...

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the number of highly protected marine areas in the UK.

This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only. The Government is committed to effectively protecting 30% of our land and sea by 2030. There are 181 Marine Protected Areas, including three Highly Protected Marine...