Environment Secretary Ranil Jayawardena to Conservative conference: we will clean up our waters

Environment Secretary, Ranil Jayawardena, has today announced further action to clean up our waters. Speaking at the Conservative Party Conference, he set out how the Conservative Government is delivering a strong and healthy environment to support a strong and healthy economy.

The Conservative Government has already taken significant steps to tackle storm overflows and the unacceptable discharge of sewage into our rivers and seas. Today, the Environment Secretary has announced plans for an up to 1,000-fold increase in civil fines for water companies that illegally breach permit conditions.

This builds on the Conservative record of being the first government to require water companies to take action to address these discharges and follows the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction plan, the most significant investment and delivery programme ever undertaken by water companies to protect people and the environment.

Ranil Jayawardena, Environment Secretary, said: “On my first day in office, I met water company bosses to give them their report card. I’ll be polite: could do better.  

“I asked them to write to me with their plans to accelerate investment in infrastructure. They did and now they must deliver. Privatisation has put in £170billion of investment into our water infrastructure already, and the private sector will now put in another £56billion more.  

“And, if they don’t deliver, I can confirm to you today that we will take forward plans to lift the Environment Agency’s maximum civil fine for each individual breach of the rules from up to just £250,000, to up to £250 million.”

The Environment Secretary also made clear that the environment, food production and economic growth go hand-in hand.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

Taking forward plans to ensure the country’s water is safe and clean, the Government will:

• Launch a formal consultation on lifting the £250,000 cap for Environment Agency fines of water companies in breach of relevant environmental regulations, to a potential cap of up to £250 million, holding water companies to account for illegal sewage discharges. 
• Launch a formal consultation on amending secondary legislation in relation to both the 2010 Order Variable Monetary Penalty cap and Environmental Permitting Regulations.