As part of their allocated opposition day debate, the Liberal
Democrats have chosen the subject of sewage for debate in the
Commons today. It is the second part of trheir opposition day,
where the party can select the subjects for debate. It is
unlikely to start before about 3.30pm and will last for about 2
hours. The full motion (and government amendment) is as
follows...
Sewage
That this House regrets the persistent scandal of raw sewage
being dumped by water companies into rivers, lakes and coastal
areas; notes with deep concern that just 14% of rivers and lakes
in England are in good ecological health; condemns the previous
Government for letting water company bosses get away with the
scandal while paying themselves millions of pounds in bonuses;
further notes the potential benefits of Blue Flag status in
improving responsibility and accountability from water companies,
through compliance checks and stringent environmental standards;
and calls on the Government to take urgent action to end the
sewage scandal, including the introduction of a new Blue Flag
status for rivers and chalk streams, to give them greater
protection against sewage dumping and ensure the public knows
when rivers are clean and safe.
Amendment (a)
The Prime Minister
The Chancellor of the Exchequer
Secretary
Sir
Leave out from “House” to end and insert “recognises that the
Government inherited a broken water system, with record levels of
sewage being pumped into waterways; welcomes the Government's
rapid delivery of its promise to put water companies under tough
special measures through the landmark Water (Special Measures)
Act 2025, which has introduced new powers to ban the payment of
unfair bonuses to water bosses who fail to protect the
environment and to bring tough criminal charges against them if
they break the law; supports the Government's work to secure over
£100 billion of private sector investment to upgrade the
crumbling sewage infrastructure; and backs the largest review of
the water sector since privatisation, aimed at tackling inherited
systemic issues in order to clean up UK rivers, lakes and seas
for good.”
