Written questions by Maguire.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) tackle and (b) prevent sewage dumping at Harbour Cove.

Cleaning up our rivers, lakes and seas is a top Government priority. The Water (Special Measures) Bill will deliver on the government’s commitment to put water companies under special measures. It 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. On 23 October, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Welsh Government, launched an Independent Commission on the water sector regulatory system, to fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good. With respect to the areas mentioned, data does not show widespread releases of raw sewage from the sites raised; pollution incident reports from beach users are very low and water quality data remains consistently high. All the designated bathing waters raised are classified as Excellent or Good South West Water’s plans for Asset Management Period 8 (covering 2025-2030), include improvements to sewage treatment infrastructure and storm overflows in the area to further reduce pollution in the area.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) tackle and (b) prevent sewage dumping at Fox Cove.

Cleaning up our rivers, lakes and seas is a top Government priority. The Water (Special Measures) Bill will deliver on the government’s commitment to put water companies under special measures. It 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. On 23 October, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Welsh Government, launched an Independent Commission on the water sector regulatory system, to fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good. With respect to the areas mentioned, data does not show widespread releases of raw sewage from the sites raised; pollution incident reports from beach users are very low and water quality data remains consistently high. All the designated bathing waters raised are classified as Excellent or Good South West Water’s plans for Asset Management Period 8 (covering 2025-2030), include improvements to sewage treatment infrastructure and storm overflows in the area to further reduce pollution in the area.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) tackle and (b) prevent sewage dumping at Fishing Cove.

Cleaning up our rivers, lakes and seas is a top Government priority. The Water (Special Measures) Bill will deliver on the government’s commitment to put water companies under special measures. It 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. On 23 October, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Welsh Government, launched an Independent Commission on the water sector regulatory system, to fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good. With respect to the areas mentioned, data does not show widespread releases of raw sewage from the sites raised; pollution incident reports from beach users are very low and water quality data remains consistently high. All the designated bathing waters raised are classified as Excellent or Good South West Water’s plans for Asset Management Period 8 (covering 2025-2030), include improvements to sewage treatment infrastructure and storm overflows in the area to further reduce pollution in the area.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) tackle and (b) prevent sewage dumping at Bedruthan Steps Beach.

Cleaning up our rivers, lakes and seas is a top Government priority. The Water (Special Measures) Bill will deliver on the government’s commitment to put water companies under special measures. It 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. On 23 October, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Welsh Government, launched an Independent Commission on the water sector regulatory system, to fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good. With respect to the areas mentioned, data does not show widespread releases of raw sewage from the sites raised; pollution incident reports from beach users are very low and water quality data remains consistently high. All the designated bathing waters raised are classified as Excellent or Good South West Water’s plans for Asset Management Period 8 (covering 2025-2030), include improvements to sewage treatment infrastructure and storm overflows in the area to further reduce pollution in the area.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) tackle and (b) prevent sewage dumping at Constantine Bay.

Cleaning up our rivers, lakes and seas is a top Government priority. The Water (Special Measures) Bill will deliver on the government’s commitment to put water companies under special measures. It 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. On 23 October, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Welsh Government, launched an Independent Commission on the water sector regulatory system, to fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good. With respect to the areas mentioned, data does not show widespread releases of raw sewage from the sites raised; pollution incident reports from beach users are very low and water quality data remains consistently high. All the designated bathing waters raised are classified as Excellent or Good South West Water’s plans for Asset Management Period 8 (covering 2025-2030), include improvements to sewage treatment infrastructure and storm overflows in the area to further reduce pollution in the area.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) tackle and (b) prevent sewage dumping at Black Cliff Beach.

Cleaning up our rivers, lakes and seas is a top Government priority. The Water (Special Measures) Bill will deliver on the government’s commitment to put water companies under special measures. It 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. On 23 October, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Welsh Government, launched an Independent Commission on the water sector regulatory system, to fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good. With respect to the areas mentioned, data does not show widespread releases of raw sewage from the sites raised; pollution incident reports from beach users are very low and water quality data remains consistently high. All the designated bathing waters raised are classified as Excellent or Good South West Water’s plans for Asset Management Period 8 (covering 2025-2030), include improvements to sewage treatment infrastructure and storm overflows in the area to further reduce pollution in the area.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) tackle and (b) prevent sewage dumping at Fistral Beach.

Cleaning up our rivers, lakes and seas is a top Government priority. The Water (Special Measures) Bill will deliver on the government’s commitment to put water companies under special measures. It 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. On 23 October, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Welsh Government, launched an Independent Commission on the water sector regulatory system, to fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good. With respect to the areas mentioned, data does not show widespread releases of raw sewage from the sites raised; pollution incident reports from beach users are very low and water quality data remains consistently high. All the designated bathing waters raised are classified as Excellent or Good South West Water’s plans for Asset Management Period 8 (covering 2025-2030), include improvements to sewage treatment infrastructure and storm overflows in the area to further reduce pollution in the area.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) tackle and (b) prevent sewage dumping at Greenbank Cove.

Cleaning up our rivers, lakes and seas is a top Government priority. The Water (Special Measures) Bill will deliver on the government’s commitment to put water companies under special measures. It 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. On 23 October, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Welsh Government, launched an Independent Commission on the water sector regulatory system, to fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good. With respect to the areas mentioned, data does not show widespread releases of raw sewage from the sites raised; pollution incident reports from beach users are very low and water quality data remains consistently high. All the designated bathing waters raised are classified as Excellent or Good South West Water’s plans for Asset Management Period 8 (covering 2025-2030), include improvements to sewage treatment infrastructure and storm overflows in the area to further reduce pollution in the area.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) tackle and (b) prevent sewage dumping at Chapel Porth Beach.

Cleaning up our rivers, lakes and seas is a top Government priority. The Water (Special Measures) Bill will deliver on the government’s commitment to put water companies under special measures. It 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. On 23 October, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Welsh Government, launched an Independent Commission on the water sector regulatory system, to fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good. With respect to the areas mentioned, data does not show widespread releases of raw sewage from the sites raised; pollution incident reports from beach users are very low and water quality data remains consistently high. All the designated bathing waters raised are classified as Excellent or Good South West Water’s plans for Asset Management Period 8 (covering 2025-2030), include improvements to sewage treatment infrastructure and storm overflows in the area to further reduce pollution in the area.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) tackle and (b) prevent sewage dumping at Great Western Beach.

Cleaning up our rivers, lakes and seas is a top Government priority. The Water (Special Measures) Bill will deliver on the government’s commitment to put water companies under special measures. It 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. On 23 October, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Welsh Government, launched an Independent Commission on the water sector regulatory system, to fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good. With respect to the areas mentioned, data does not show widespread releases of raw sewage from the sites raised; pollution incident reports from beach users are very low and water quality data remains consistently high. All the designated bathing waters raised are classified as Excellent or Good South West Water’s plans for Asset Management Period 8 (covering 2025-2030), include improvements to sewage treatment infrastructure and storm overflows in the area to further reduce pollution in the area.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) tackle and (b) prevent sewage dumping at Godrevy Beach.

Cleaning up our rivers, lakes and seas is a top Government priority. The Water (Special Measures) Bill will deliver on the government’s commitment to put water companies under special measures. It 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. On 23 October, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Welsh Government, launched an Independent Commission on the water sector regulatory system, to fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good. With respect to the areas mentioned, data does not show widespread releases of raw sewage from the sites raised; pollution incident reports from beach users are very low and water quality data remains consistently high. All the designated bathing waters raised are classified as Excellent or Good South West Water’s plans for Asset Management Period 8 (covering 2025-2030), include improvements to sewage treatment infrastructure and storm overflows in the area to further reduce pollution in the area.

Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of financial support for people paying increased water bills in the South West.

For too long, sewage systems were allowed to deteriorate. The previous Government allowed water companies to divert customers' money to unjustified bonuses and shareholder payouts rather than fixing our water and sewage systems. Now, to fix this mess we need to invest in our aging infrastructure and deliver clean water. That has meant that bills have had to rise across the country. Ofwat, as the independent regulator, is responsible for ensuring the prices water companies charge their customers are fair. The Water (Special Measures) Bill will deliver on the Government's commitment to deliver for customers by driving 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. We will always protect the most vulnerable and this Government expects water companies to put robust support in place for customers that are struggling to pay their bills to address water poverty. All companies have measures in place for people who struggle to pay their bills, including WaterSure, social tariffs, payment breaks, and debt management support. We are also continuing to explore what more can be done to support families at risk of being unable to pay future water bills.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many sewage discharges into (a) rivers and (b) seas have occurred so far this year in Cornwall.

The Environment Agency (EA) will publish 2024 Event Duration Monitoring data, showing how long and how often storm overflows have been used, in March 2025. The data for previous years is available online, here. From 1 January, companies will be required to publish discharge data from storm overflows in near real time. This duty falls under section 141DA of the Water Industry Act 1991, as inserted by section 81 of the Environment Act 2021. To support this, Water UK recently released its National Storm Overflow Hub to provide this data on the same site for the whole of England. The Water (Special Measures) Bill will strengthen these provisions. Clause 3 will require companies to publish discharge data for emergency overflows in near real time. This will ensure that discharge data from all sewage overflows will be published in near real time.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to help prevent international puppy smuggling.

As outlined in our manifesto, we are committed to ending puppy smuggling. The Government recently announced its support for the Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, a Private Members’ Bill sponsored by Dr Danny Chambers MP. The Bill will close loopholes in the non-commercial pet travel rules that are abused by unscrupulous traders and give the government powers to prevent the supply of low-welfare pets to Great Britain’s pet market. We are fully supportive of this Bill and would like to see it pass through both Houses as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) extending the Future Farm Resilience Fund and (b) introducing any new schemes of monetary support for farms.

The Farming Resilience Fund (FRF) was developed to help farmers through the early years of the Agricultural Transition, specifically to assist farm businesses to adapt to the initial reductions in the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) by providing specialist business advice. To date, over 25,000 farmers have received 1-2-1 support. The FRF will conclude March 2025. Farmers yet to receive any support are therefore encouraged to contact the organisations listed on GOV.UK before the end of December 2024. Defra has received feedback suggesting many participants have recognised the value of the advice provided and it is our hope that many of the relationships and connections built through the FRF will continue beyond the scheme's official end date. In the Budget announced in October, the Government committed £5 billion to the farming budget over two years. This Government has committed to environmental land management schemes. The budget included £1.8 billion for these schemes in 2025/26, the largest ever budget directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history. This will deliver improvements to food security, biodiversity, carbon emissions, water quality, air quality and flood resilience. We will work with the sector to continue to roll out, improve and evolve these schemes, to make them work for farming and nature.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Future Farm Resilience Fund beyond March 2025.

Defra will carefully consider the findings from the Farming Resilience Fund (FRF), alongside other advisory programs, to shape what any future support might look like. The FRF was developed to help farmers through the early years of the Agricultural Transition, specifically to assist farm businesses to adapt to the initial reductions in the Basic Payment Scheme. Defra has received feedback suggesting many participants have recognised the value of the advice provided and it is our hope that many of the relationships and connections built through the FRF will continue beyond the scheme's official end date.