Written questions by Mierlo.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 25 June 2026 to UIN 10802, what criteria her Department uses to make decisions on publishing such information.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her department has made of the potential impact of issues raised by the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management, published on 10th June 2026, regard

The Biodiversity Net Gain consultation on a potential additional targeted exemption for certain residential brownfield development closed on 10 June 2026 and thank you to all those that responded. Evidence from responses, including a response from CIEEM, ...

Food and Rural Affairs, what contingency planning her Department has undertaken to monitor and improve Thames Water’s Asset Health Index in future.

In line with Section 2 duties of the Water Industry Act 1991, the Secretary of State has given her preliminary views on the London and Valley Water Consortium’s Proposal to Ofwat, but it is for Ofwat to decide whether to reject or accept the Proposal. The...

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to question asked by the hon. member for Henley and Thame during a statement to the house on 16th June by the Secretary of State on Thames Water, if she will publish outputs o

The Government is preparing for all eventualities including special administration. The work done by FTI would not be appropriate to make public. It would also not be appropriate at this time to make public the current spending on contingency planning.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her letter of Monday 15th June 2026 to Ofwat on Thames Water’s performance and infrastructure, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her Depa

In line with Section 2 duties of the Water Industry Act 1991, the Secretary of State has given her preliminary views on the London and Valley Water Consortium’s Proposal to Ofwat, but it is for Ofwat to decide whether to reject or accept the Proposal. The...

Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to reply to the letter of 17 April 2026 from the hon. Member for Henley and Thame.

A reply to the hon. Member is being prepared and will be issued as soon as possible.

Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to implement exemptions of sites below 0.2 hectares from BNG requirements.

Government intends to bring forward secondary legislation to implement the 0.2ha BNG exemption before summer recess 2026, subject to parliamentary scheduling.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in response to the hon, Member for Twickenham during oral

The Government will bring forward legislation through the Clean Water Bill, announced in the King’s Speech on 13 May, to deliver major reforms to the water system. Public health will be at the heart of these reforms, alongside measures to strengthen regul...

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer provided on the 9th December to question 97007, if she can outline the (a) local and (b) national stakeholders who she will engage with during the initial scopin

The Bathing Water Regulations were updated in November 2025 and implementation is underway. Defra, the Welsh Government, the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales have jointly held two stakeholder workshops, with follow-up engagement ongoing. Def...

Food and Rural Affairs, Pursuant to the answer provided on the 2nd March to question 115773, to provide an update on the evidence review to consider the environmental and public health implications of a chang

The Bathing Water Regulations were updated in November 2025 and implementation is underway. Defra, the Welsh Government, the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales have jointly held two stakeholder workshops, with follow-up engagement ongoing. Def...

Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to respond to the letter of 7 March 2026 from the Hon. Member for Henley and Thame and the Hon. Member for Earley and Woodley on the invitation to visit the flood affect

A reply is being prepared and will be issued to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Food and Rural Affairs, what her planned timetable is for publishing her Department's full response to the Biodiversity Net Gain consultation.

On 15 April 2026 we published the Government response to the summer 2025 consultations: BNG for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) and Improving BNG implementation for minor, medium and brownfield development. On the same date we launched a new consultation on an additional targeted exemption for residential brownfield development, which closes on 10 June 2026.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her department has had with Ofwat, the Environment Agency, and Natural England regarding the application of the duty of candour to water companies in relation to the duties and offences in the Public Office (Accountability) Bill.

The Government set out its new vision for water through a White Paper published on 20 January 2026. To truly turn around the water sector we need the right people in to do the job. We want the sector to be attractive to high quality senior leaders, acting in the public interest, who can lead change from the top. To achieve this, the Government committed in the White Paper to consider taking forward a new regime for senior accountability. This would be carefully designed to ensure senior leaders are directly accountable for the service customers receive, whilst still allowing water companies to appoint capable leadership.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to introduce a formalised interdepartmental framework to help prevent gaps in planning between her Department and the Home Office on issues with potential animal‑welfare impacts.

A formalised interdepartmental framework is not required. Defra works closely with the Home Office across a range of policy areas where there are potential animal welfare impacts. Moreover, Government policy proposals are subject to the standard processes of collective agreement which provides a further opportunity for departments to coordinate effectively and ensure that any cross-cutting issues are fully considered.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies on pollutant reduction within river improvement programmes of the report by the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology entitled Review of the Classification Framework for Ecological Status/Potential under the Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) England and Wales Regulations, published in July 2025.

In 2025, the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH) published an independent review of the suitability of the Water Framework Directive ecological classification framework for measuring and assessing the health of the water environment. Among its suggestions was to employ a ‘surface waterbody biodiversity audit’ to inform policies on reducing pollution to the water environment. We committed in the recently published Water White Paper to explore setting new ambitious targets for the water environment and are considering a wide range of inputs as part of these explorations, including the UKCEH report. Meanwhile, we continue to work towards our obligation to secure continuous improvement for the water environment.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether the water regulator replacing Ofwat will have prosecution powers.

The Government has set out its ambition to create a powerful new water regulator, bringing together the relevant functions from the existing regulators (Ofwat, the Drinking Water Inspectorate, Environment Agency and Natural England) into one new body. This will replace the current fragmented system with one regulator capable of integrated management of the water system. Defra is developing the design and operating model of the new regulator and will ensure the regulator has robust enforcement powers. These reforms will be set out in a future water reform bill.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps is she taking as a result of HM Governments report titled Global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security, published on 20 January 2026.

The Nature security assessment forms part of routine cross-government resilience planning and complements the UK’s National Security Strategy, National Risk Register and Chronic Risk Analysis. Climate change and nature loss act as risk multipliers, increasing pressures on food systems, water security and global stability. Assessing these risks helps ensure the UK is better prepared to anticipate, respond to, and mitigate future challenges. Defra, along with other Government Departments, is already taking action to address the potential risks identified in the assessment. Internationally, the UK is investing in forest and ocean protection and is on track to invest £11.6bn of International Climate Finance between 2021 to 2026, including £3bn for vital habitats such as tropical rainforests, and marine ecosystems, and to support indigenous communities. The UK is also taking action domestically: tree planting in England is at its highest rate in over twenty years; we are restoring peatlands, improving water quality, protecting pollinators, and have introduced landmark legislation to safeguard our marine environment. We are strengthening supply chain resilience through the Critical Imports and Supply Chains Strategy and supporting food security by backing British farmers through new technology, streamlined regulation, and nature-friendly farming schemes that reward sustainable production.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish a timeline for the UK and Welsh Governments to jointly publish the 2026 Transition Plan, accompanied by interim strategic guidance for the current regulators, and to introduce the Water Reform Bill to Parliament.

The Transition Plan is part of our plan to reform the sector and will be published in due course. It will describe the transitional arrangements to enable the stable, successful delivery of reforms, and will be accompanied by a new Strategic Policy Statement for Ofwat and a Ministerial Direction for the Environment Agency.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will provide an update on her Department's work with FTI consultancy on contingency planning for potential collapse of Thames Water, including (a) spend so far (b) planned spending, (c) number of hours billed to date, (d) number of consultants who have worked on the account and (e) the date the contract was agreed.

We work closely with FTI Consulting in their role as the Government’s advisor on Special Administration Regime contingency planning and continue to monitor the situation.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 9th December 2025 to question 97007 on Bathing water (Amendment) (England and Wales) Regulations 2025, when she will publish the detail on Bathing water status reforms included in the Water White Paper.

The Water White Paper sets out wide-ranging reforms to the water system, intended to clean up our rivers, lakes and coastal waters. The Bathing Water (Amendment) (England and Wales) Regulations 2025 do not feature in the white paper, but form part of this wider reform, as an early step towards these same objectives. In our response to the consultation on amending the bathing water regulations, the Government noted the support for expanding the definition of a bather to include other recreational water users. Work has begun on an evidence review to consider the environmental and public health implications of any change. Link to 97007: Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament