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Select committee: Environmental Audit Committee

First Special Report - Water quality in rivers: Government Response to the Committee’s Fourth Report of Session 2021–22

Published 16 May 2022

Environmental Audit Committee Water Quality in Rivers Report on parliament.uk ↗

At a glance

The government's response

This document responds to Fourth Report - Water quality in rivers.

This is the government's response, published 16 May 2022.

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The government welcomes the report and says it agrees there is "more to do", accepting many recommendations, declining some, and deferring others to consultations, reviews and future plans.

  • On sewage monitoring, it "does not accept" the recommendation to install volume monitors at all overflow points, saying volume measurement is "limited by technical feasibility and cost" and "requires further consideration".
  • It "does not agree" that planning authorities should adopt a broad policy against farming infrastructure, and "does not agree" that permitting is "normally an appropriate risk management response" for highway drains.
  • On highways outfalls, National Highways "agrees to set out its plans" by the end of the 2022/23 financial year for how high-risk locations could be mitigated by 2030, but says it is "not possible to make a commitment" on funding at this time.
  • On sentencing for water pollution offences, the independent Sentencing Council "will consider the recommendation in due course", and any changes to guidelines would be "subject to public consultation".

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error

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