Written questions by Spencer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of the condition of flood risk assets along the non-tidal Thames on flood risk in that area.

Protecting communities around the country from flooding is one of the new Secretary of State’s five core priorities. That’s why this Government launched a Flood Resilience Taskforce to provide oversight of national and local flood resilience and preparedness ahead of and after winter flood season. The Government is investing over £1.25 billion in 2024/25 to build and maintain flood defences to scale up national resilience. We continue to target investment where it’s most needed to ensure that communities are protected from the devastating impacts of flooding and coastal erosion. There are currently no flood risk assets on the River Thames within the Runnymede and Weybridge constituency. However, the Maidenhead, Windsor and Eton Flood Alleviation scheme (MWEFAS) reduces impacts of Thames flooding. Assessments carried out post-flooding showed that it performed as designed. Approximately 7% of primary purpose navigation assets below required condition are within Runnymede and Weybridge constituency. Where assets are not at required condition, this identifies that work is needed. It doesn’t present a risk of failure, or compromise performance in a flood, because mitigation measures are put in place such as more frequent inspections by the Environment Agency (EA). Defra ministers regularly meet with EA leadership to discuss its performance and delivery of departmental priorities.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy of improvements to sewage works discharging into the river Mole and (b) extent of further work needed to reduce storm overflows from those sites.

The Environment Agency (EA) has 31 Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) schemes in the current investment period 2020-25. These cover the Mole catchment as a whole. The schemes involve a range of actions including increasing storm tank capacity, investigations at Sewage Treatment Works in the catchment and monitoring. These schemes are on target to be completed by the end of the year and will be reviewed by the EA.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy of improvements to Weybridge sewage works and (b) extent of further work needed to reduce storm overflows from that site.

The Environment Agency (EA) has required Thames Water to improve the Event Duration Monitoring of storm overflows at Weybridge Sewage Treatment works as part of the current Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) 2020-25. The EA has inspected Weybridge Sewage Treatment Works in 2024 and is currently investigating possible permit breaches at the site. The regulators will not let companies get away with illegal activity and where breaches are found, will not hesitate to hold companies to account. Further improvement schemes are planned as part of the WINEP 2025-2030 including tightening of environmental permit limits for phosphorous.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the causes of delays in repairing bridge 142 in Runnymede and Weybridge constituency.

To ensure public safety and prevent access to the bridge, Egham Hythe (Bridge 142) will be closed until the Environment Agency (EA) has completed the necessary repair. Following a tree strike in 2023 the EA has conducted several specialist surveys of this bridge which identified cracks within the iron structure. The bridge refurbishment will require Defra grant in aid funding to be allocated to it and we will ensure this forms part of future Government Spending Review bids. Any temporary crossing would similarly require new Defra funding in order to be progressed. The EA is, however, exploring possible routes for partnership funding, which may help accelerate the refurbishment programme

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy of improvements to Chertsey Sewage Works and (b) extent of further work needed to reduce storm overflows from that site.

The Environment Agency (EA) has required Thames Water to significantly improve the storm tank capacity at Chertsey Sewage Treatment works as part of the current Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) 2020-25 to reduce the frequency of storm overflows. The current completion date for this work is 31 December 2024. The EA will be inspecting the site to confirm the improvement scheme has been completed and will issue an updated environmental permit accordingly.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the planned upgrade and improvement works at the Animal and Plant Health Agency on (a) current and (b) future trade agreements.

Work to safeguard and enhance the Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA) site in Weybridge continues. This capability ensures the Government can continue to manage a wide range of biosecurity threats which may otherwise affect our ability to trade. Defra is committed to the strongest possible standards of biosecurity which protects the country, boosting our resilience against animal diseases and protecting our economic growth.

Food and Rural Affairs, what enforcement powers he has over the Environment Agency if they fail to remove (a) a tree under the Wey Bridge and (b) other waterway obstructions.

The Environment Agency (EA) is accountable to Parliament via the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). As the principal sponsor of the EA, Defra works closely with EA officials at every level to provide constructive challenge and support on EA performance and delivery. Defra ministers regularly meet with the EA leadership to discuss the EA’s performance and delivery of departmental priorities. The EA has powers to undertake maintenance on main rivers. Where the EA undertakes watercourse maintenance to reduce flood risk, it focuses its efforts and resources on those areas where the consequences of flooding for communities, businesses, property and infrastructure are greatest. The EA measures, and reports on, the percentage of assets that are at target condition. Where assets are not at required condition, this identifies that work is needed. It does not present a risk of failure, or compromise performance in a flood, because mitigation measures are put in place such as more frequent inspections by the EA.

Food and Rural Affairs, what metrics are in place to (a) monitor and (b) enforce the timely response of the Environment Agency to reports of (i) waterway obstructions, (ii) lack of waterway maintenance and (iii) damaged or broken assets.

The Environment Agency (EA) is accountable to Parliament via the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). As the principal sponsor of the EA, Defra works closely with EA officials at every level to provide constructive challenge and support on EA performance and delivery. Defra ministers regularly meet with the EA leadership to discuss the EA’s performance and delivery of departmental priorities. The EA has powers to undertake maintenance on main rivers. Where the EA undertakes watercourse maintenance to reduce flood risk, it focuses its efforts and resources on those areas where the consequences of flooding for communities, businesses, property and infrastructure are greatest. The EA measures, and reports on, the percentage of assets that are at target condition. Where assets are not at required condition, this identifies that work is needed. It does not present a risk of failure, or compromise performance in a flood, because mitigation measures are put in place such as more frequent inspections by the EA.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take enforcement action against Thames Water in response to sewer flooding in the Runnymede and Weybridge Constituency.

The Environment Agency (EA) assesses all incident reports and responds to those which pose the greatest risk to the environment. The EA has received one recent report of sewer flooding in the Runnymede and Weybridge Constituency (since 1 September 2024). This related to the hydraulic overload of Thames Water’s sewer network and was assessed as having a low impact on the environment. The EA has no plans for enforcement action relating to this incident in line with its Enforcement & Sanctions Policy. This policy has been in place since December 2023. The current Government is examining ways to strengthen these powers.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the provisions of Flood:Re beyond 2039.

Flood Re is a flood re-insurance scheme that aims to ensure UK householders living in properties at high risk of flooding can access affordable home insurance. The scheme is due to end in 2039, at which point the aim is for the market to offer affordable risk-reflective pricing of flood insurance for households. Flood Re have a statutory purpose to manage the transition to risk-reflective pricing of flood insurance for household premises between 2016 and 2039. Flood Re published their most recent Transition Plan in July 2023, outlining its progress and action on moving to affordable risk-reflective pricing by 2039 this summer. Flood Re’s next Transition plan (Transition Plan 4) will be published in summer 2028.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Environment Agency's (a) actions and (b) policies in managing flood risk from watercourse in riparian ownership.

Under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, the Environment Agency (EA) has a strategic overview of the management of all sources of flooding and coastal change and are the lead authority for managing the risk of flooding from main rivers, estuaries and the sea. Landowners are responsible, under common law, for maintaining the bed and banks of any watercourses that run through their land in a state which avoids flooding on their neighbours’ or other land. This common law duty also extends to keeping watercourses and culverts clear of anything that could cause an obstruction, either on their own land or downstream if it is washed away. The EA has published guidance on owning a watercourse on GOV.UK, and has supplemented their riparian guidance with Your Watercourse: rights and roles to help Risk Management Authorities, EA staff, and landowners have more effective conversations on this matter.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many enforcement actions relating to flood risk prevention were taken by the Environment Agency in each constituency in 2023.

The Environment Agency (EA) regulate works in rivers through a permissions-based approach under the Environmental Permitting Regulations. These are referred to as “flood risk activities”. The primary purpose of the regulations is to ensure in-river works do not damage the environment or cause a flood risk to others. Enforcement actions can occur due to a breach in permit condition but are predominantly for unauthorised works. Enforcement actions can vary from advice and guidance, formal warnings, notices, civil sanctions and prosecutions. There were 65 Enforcement Actions across the country relating to flood risk prevention in 2023. Please see the table below for the number of enforcement actions for each EA area. Number of enforcement actions for each Environment Agency area Environment Agency areaNumber of enforcement actionsCumbria and Lancashire0Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly2East Anglia30East Midlands0Greater Manchester and Merseyside0Hertfordshire and North London0Kent, South London and East Sussex2Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire0North East0Solent and South Downs0Thames0West Midlands1Wessex0Yorkshire30

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to introduce flood performance certificates.

Protecting communities from flooding is a key priority for this Government. Flood Re is a UK-wide, Government and industry led flood re-insurance scheme which aims to promote the affordability and availability of insurance for UK households at high flood risk. It is also required to manage the transition to risk-reflective pricing of flood insurance for household premises, ahead of the scheme closure in 2039. In their 2023 Transition Plan, Flood Re have committed to bring to the market a 'Flood Performance Certificate' which will enable assessments to be undertaken of property-level resilience to flooding. Whilst there is no statutory requirement for ministers to comment or respond to the published transition plans, the Government continues to work closely with Flood Re on the transition to risk reflective pricing for household insurance.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish an audit of the state of (a) operation and (b) maintenance of publicly owned assets on the River Thames.

The Environment Agency (EA) manages many of the publicly owned assets along the non-tidal Thames, ranging from flood defences, navigation infrastructure, river gauging stations and some of the Thames Path bridges. These assets are managed in accordance with the EA’s Asset Management Strategy 2023-2033 to ensure safe, reliable and sustainable assets that support a healthy natural environment and climate resilient communities. To underpin this strategy the EA is developing a strategic asset management plan for all the assets on its navigable waterways. This plan will set out the required performance of those assets for reducing flood risk, maintaining water resources, and supporting navigation. The EA regularly inspects its assets to determine their condition and to inform its programme of planned maintenance and investment. Currently 92% of the 203 flood risk assets along the non-tidal Thames are at or above their target condition, and of the 1,062 primary navigation assets, 89% of those recently inspected were at or above their target condition. The EA will share with the hon. Member the progress it has made and its plans to ensure these assets continue to provide the services communities require.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the Development Consent Order application process to speed up the delivery of the River Thames Scheme.

The Secretary of State is aware of the importance of the River Thames Scheme in reducing flood risk and enhancing resilience for communities along the Thames. The Development Consent Order (DCO) application process plays a critical role in ensuring that large-scale infrastructure projects, such as this, are thoroughly assessed for environmental, social, and economic impacts before moving forward. While the Government acknowledges the importance of delivering key infrastructure projects more efficiently to address pressing challenges such as flood protection, any amendments to the DCO process must balance the need for efficiency with the necessity of proper due diligence. This ensures that projects are delivered responsibly, with full consideration of environmental impacts, stakeholder input, and community needs. The Government is continually reviewing planning and infrastructure processes, and any specific changes to the DCO process would require careful evaluation to avoid unintended consequences, such as compromising the rigor of environmental assessments or public consultation.

Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on when the Environment Agency plans to take enforcement action against illegal moorings in Runnymede and Weybridge constituency.

Environment Agency (EA) officers have been actively patrolling the Desborough Cut area and have mapped all trespassing vessels, including wrecks and abandoned boats. As of 27 September 2024, there are 29 vessels in total in this area. These include both registered and unregistered vessels. The EA is currently working to secure the necessary legal resources and additional funding to support the potential cases arising from a targeted operation at Desborough Cut. They have also engaged contractors to survey the sunken vessels once river conditions allow for safe access, which will help in assessing the cost of their removal and disposal. They will look to recharge an owner where possible.