Written questions by Maguire.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with Thames Water on its financial viability.

Since July the Defra Secretary of State has met with water company Chief Executives and chairs, including Thames Water.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to make healthy food options affordable to low-income families.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone has access to nutritious, affordable food. The Government’s recently launched Food Strategy will ensure that access to healthy food is affordable and accessible to all. The Government has also committed to roll out free breakfast clubs at all primary schools, whilst also tripling investment in breakfast clubs to over £30 million. Additionally, this Government has committed to delivering its plan to make work pay to turn the minimum wage into a real living wage so that working families can afford healthy food Defra regularly engages with supermarkets and producers about a range of measures they can take to ensure the availability of affordable food. These measures include maintaining value ranges, price matching and price freezing. The range and price of food is a commercial decision for each retailer and the Government does not interfere in their day-to-day operations. This Government will also be introducing a Fair Repayment Rate for deductions from Universal Credit, and increasing the National Living Wage, boosting the pay of 3 million workers, ensuring that everyone can afford to make healthy food choices.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with water companies on upgrading infrastructure to ensure the sewage system can accommodate heavy rainfall without overflowing sewage into waterways.

For too long, water companies have discharged record 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, which will strengthen regulation, including delivering new powers to ban the payment of bonuses for polluting water bosses and bringing criminal charges against persistent law breakers. For Price Review 2024, which runs from 2025 – 2030, water companies are investing almost £12 billion to improve 2,800 storm overflows across England and Wales. Where required outcomes are not met, companies must reimburse customers, thereby holding water companies to account to deliver the investment. Going forward, the Secretary of State and I continue to meet regularly with water company leadership teams to hold them to account for and ensure they are delivering for customers and the environment. In October 2024, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Welsh Government, also launched an Independent Commission on the water sector regulatory system. This is a wide-ranging review to fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with Ofwat on the enforcement of existing laws to protect waterways.

Ofwat regularly meet with Defra, other Government departments and regulators to discuss enforcement policy and activities. As part of their investigation into all water companies, earlier this year Ofwat proposed fines of £168 million for three companies (Thames, Yorkshire and Northumbria Water) for failing to manage their wastewater treatment works and networks, as part of the first batch of outcomes from its biggest ever investigation. These fines are alongside proposed enforcement orders, which require each company to rectify issues to bring them into compliance. Ofwat has also recently announced four more enforcement cases in relation to management of wastewater treatment works and networks. Furthermore, the Water (Special Measures) Bill will provide the most significant increase in enforcement powers to the regulators in a decade, giving them the teeth they need to take tougher action against water companies in the next investment period, which is due to start in April next year. The Bill will provide Ofwat with legal powers to ban bonuses, where currently they can only set expectations, and ensure that imprisonment will always be available to the courts as a sentencing option where investigations by the environmental regulators have been obstructed. On 23 October 2024, the UK and Welsh Governments launched an independent commission, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, to recommend reforms to reset the water sector regulatory system. The Commission will publish a report in Q2 2025, with recommendations for actionable solutions to the sector’s problems.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities, Housing and Local Government on the potential impact of targets for newly-built homes on the capacity of smaller sewage pumping stations.

The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues, and Cabinet discussions are considered confidential. The Government recognises the importance of having a robust drainage system both now and for future demand and expects water companies to plan their infrastructure appropriately to meet new growth. As part of the Environment Act 2021, water companies in England are required to produce Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans (DWMPs). DWMPs set out how a water company intends to improve their drainage and wastewater systems over the next 25 years, accounting for factors including growing population and changing environmental circumstances. These plans will help sewerage companies to fully assess the capacity of the wastewater network and develop collaborative solutions to current problems and future issues.

Food and Rural Affairs, what support his Department provides farmers to (a) research and (b) implement natural defences to aphids instead of neonicotinoid pesticides.

The UK Government has provided research funding through the Farming Futures Fund to look at the potential for precision breeding in producing virus-resistant varieties of sugar beet. Separately, the British Beet Research Organisation is operating an industry-funded programme researching alternative methods to protect sugar beet crops. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is at the heart of our approach to minimise the risks associated with pesticides. Four IPM actions are available within the Sustainable Farming Incentive. Farmers are paid to complete an assessment and produce an IPM plan; establish and maintain flower-rich grass margins, blocks, or in-field strips; establish a companion crop and to move towards pesticide-free farming.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his department is taking to help protect chalk streams from (a) pollution and (b) overextraction.

The Government is committed to the protection and restoration of our cherished chalk streams. We have taken immediate action to clean up our waterways, including a new Water (Special Measures) Bill to ban the payment of unfair bonuses to polluting water bosses, and bring criminal charges against those who persistently break the law. In October we launched an independent commission into the water sector regulatory system to deliver transformative change to the water system. We are investing in initiatives to improve chalk streams including 55 projects this financial year through the Water Environment Improvement Fund. As part of the Water Resources Chalk Partnership Fund, this financial year, the Government will contribute £1m for chalk stream projects with partners on 30 projects, aimed at safeguarding these rare and irreplaceable habitats. We are committed to ending damaging abstraction of water from rivers and groundwater wherever possible. We will make full use of our existing powers to amend abstraction licences to protect and improve the environment and make sure water companies deliver the improvements in their current business plans, including licence reductions of around 100 million litres per day in chalk streams. Through the Price Review 2024, Ofwat will set out the next cycle of planned water company investment covering 2025-2030, which will include further actions to restore chalk streams. The exact funding is currently being determined by Ofwat, with final determinations due to be published on 19 December. Environmental requirements for abstraction reductions to improve chalk streams flows are part of the environmental planning scenarios that Regional Water Resources Groups and water companies have included in their planning to 2050.