Dr Neil Hudson MP welcomes the Environment Secretary Steve Barclay’s announcement this week that up to £11 million in water company fines and penalties will be reinvested back into a new Water Restoration Fund (WRF).
Having been one of the first MPs calling on fines to be ringfenced alongside the Conservative Environment Network, Dr Hudson is incredibly pleased that all water company environmental fines and penalties since April 2022 have been ringfenced to directly improve the water environment.
The Water Restoration Fund will offer grant funding on a competitive basis to support local groups, farmers and landowners and community-led schemes, bolstering their capacity and capabilities for on-the-ground projects to improve the water environment. This could include activities that improve biodiversity and community access to blue and green spaces in areas where water companies have been issued with fines or penalties.
Announced under the government’s Plan for Water, the Water Restoration Fund money comes exclusively from water company fines and penalties. These penalties and fines are additional to any reparations that water companies make when they have breached environmental regulations.
The £11 million in fines and penalties collected will be allocated for water improvements in the water company areas on which they were accrued in:
- Anglian Water: £3,085,000
- South West Water: £2,150,000
- Thames Water: £3,334,000
- United Utilities: £800,000
- Yorkshire Water: £1,600,750
Dr Hudson's Penrith and The Border constituency is eligible for the United Utilities pot above, creating the potential for up to £800,000 investment in the local area.
Dr Neil Hudson MP said:
"This is a great campaign win for my Conservative colleagues and I who were the first to call for these measures. It is only right that we reinvest the money raised through fining water companies back into our precious waterways.
"There are no quick-fixes to such a huge infrastructure overhaul as we are witnessing - but I am proud we Conservatives have put this on the agenda and are making long-term improvements."
Dr Hudson has been one of the key figures in the Conservative parliamentary party's campaign to clean up the nation's waterways. His recent work includes:
- Dr Neil Hudson MP: 2024 is the year we turn the tide on immoral sewage discharges into our waterways
This campaigning has helped develop the Conservative Government's historic clean water programme such as creating unlimited financial penalties for polluters, implementing 100% storm overflow monitoring in England, stopping water bosses from taking their bonuses if they break the rules and unprecedented levels of investment to overhaul the UK's Victorian sewage infrastructure.
Environment Secretary Steve Barclay said:
“I know how important our precious waterways are to local communities and to nature, which is why we’re taking tough action to ensure our regulators are well-equipped to hold those who pollute them to account.
“Through the Water Restoration Fund, I will be making sure that money from fines and penalties – taken from water company profits only – is channelled directly back into our waterways.
“Community-led projects are vital to improving and maintaining water quality across the country, and this fund will help build on that success.”
Water Minister Robbie Moore said:
“We all know the benefits that our waterways bring to local communities across England, which is why this government is committed to protecting and preserving them for generations to come.
“Through the launch of the Water Restoration Fund we are listening and responding to public demand for action. We have been clear that change is needed to drastically reduce sewage pollution, and we expect water companies to meet us swiftly in this ambition. Those who fail to do so face strict enforcement action.
"In just the last few months alone we have announced a ban on water bosses’ bonuses when criminal breaches have occurred, subject to consultation, plans to quadruple water company inspections next year, fast-tracked £180m investment to cut spills, launched a whistleblowing portal for water company workers to report breaches, and will soon set out our plans to ban wet wipes containing plastic.
“The Government has also spearheaded significant monitoring action from the water sector in recent years – including fitting 100% of storm overflows with monitors, meeting the target we imposed on water companies to do so by the end of 2023.
“Today’s launch is another example of how we are delivering more investment, stronger regulation and tougher enforcement across our water system, and supporting the community-lead projects making a difference throughout the country.”
Further details on the fund:
The Fund will be open to a range of organisations in England, including farmers and landowners, eNGOs, Local Authorities, catchment partnerships, National Parks and National Landscapes.
Applicants will have an eight-week window to apply from today, with grant awards expected to be issued from late July. For further details, please refer to our application guidance.
The launch of the Fund follows significant action taken in recent months to hold water companies to account, including a ban on bonuses for water company executives where firms have committed serious criminal breaches, subject to Ofwat consultation, and plans to quadruple the Environment Agency’s regulatory capacity, enabling them to carry out 4,000 water company inspections by the end of the next financial year.
Further improvements recently delivered to the water environment include:
· Requiring companies to monitor 100% of storm overflows in England - providing a complete picture of when and where sewage spills happen. · Removing the cap on civil penalties for water companies and broadening their scope so swifter action can be taken against those who pollute our waterways. · Requiring the largest infrastructure programme in water company history - £60 billion over 25 years – to revamp ageing assets and reduce the number of sewage spills by hundreds of thousands every year. · Increasing protections for coastal and estuarine waters by expanding the Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan, prioritising bathing waters, sites of special scientific interest and shellfish waters.
· Providing £10 million in support for farmers to store more water on their land through the Water Management Grants to support food production and improve water security.
· Speeding up the process of building key water supply infrastructure, including more reservoirs and water transfer schemes.
