Question follow-through · 80909

Rivers: Sewage

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of updating the Environment Agency’s treatment plant discharge permits to account for seasonal low flows.

answeredDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

About this written question

A written question asks a government minister for information in writing. Parliament publishes the question and any answer.

Answering body: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Tabled: 10 Oct 2025
Target answer date: 14 Oct 2025
Answer: 20 Oct 2025 · 10 calendar days after tabling

Elapsed calendar days describe the record timeline, not whether Parliament considers an answer on time.

More questions by this MP on Environment and energy

Pollution Control · 14 Oct 2025
Water Companies: Regulation · 14 Oct 2025
Pollution: Environment Agency · 15 Oct 2025
Food: Prices · 15 Oct 2025
Flood Control · 20 Oct 2025

Shared topic keywords suggest a connection; they do not establish a follow-up.

Votes on this topic

Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Bill Committee: New Clause 5 · 1 Jul 2026
Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Bill Committee: New Clause 4 · 1 Jul 2026
Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Bill Committee: New Clause 2 · 1 Jul 2026

These Commons divisions share a topic label. The question did not necessarily lead to a vote.

Recorded timeline

10 Oct 2025
Question tabled
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of updating the Environment Agency’s treatment plant discharge permits to account for seasonal low flows.
14 Oct 2025
Target answer date
Date supplied by the official written-questions record.
20 Oct 2025
Answer published
The Environment Agency (EA) considers seasonal variations, including periods of low river flow, when setting and reviewing environmental permits for water discharge and groundwater activities under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulati...

Open official record

Official data retrieved 28 Sept 2026.

Later records

Possible follow-up questions

Strong links require the same MP, department and exact heading. Other same-department questions are shown as unreviewed candidates, not as confirmed follow-ups. No debate link is asserted unless a stable source relationship exists.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Pollution Control

14 Oct 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the Environment Agency increases its attendance rate at pollution incidents.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Water Companies: Regulation

14 Oct 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to improve the regulation of water companies.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Pollution: Environment Agency

15 Oct 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of pollution incidents did the Environment Agency attend in each of the last three years.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Food: Prices

15 Oct 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to tackle food price inflation.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Flood Control

20 Oct 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce the risks of flooding.

Strong linkSame MP, department and exact heading

Rivers: Sewage

20 Oct 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to prevent illegal sewage dumping in chalk stream rivers.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Thames Water: Insolvency

24 Oct 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing Thames Water into special administration.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Rivers: Environment Protection

4 Nov 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to improve Catchment partnerships for chalk streams.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Rivers: Environment Protection

4 Nov 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will set out a plan with (a) clear aims for stakeholders and (b) other steps to tackle issues facing chalk streams.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Agriculture

4 Nov 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to increase regenerative farming.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Inland Waterways

10 Nov 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of expanding access rights for (a) paddling, (b) swimming and (c) other non-motorised craft on inland waters.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Rivers: Walking

10 Nov 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will take steps to create new river trails for multi-use access.