Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 41
41
Accepted
Wastewater management primarily viewed as an environmental issue, hindering public health approach to AMR.
Recommendation
We asked DHSC and VMD if they were concerned about the dumping of sewage.105 DHSC noted that there are a lot of storm overflows and that these are one of the main routes by which resistant pathogens get into waterways. It told us that the other main route was through the ordinary use of water treatment works, which are constantly releasing micro- organisms from people’s guts into the environment. There are engineering solutions to this that could, at a cost, reduce the risk of AMR spreading this way. DHSC highlighted the problem that wastewater is seen as only an environmental issue when it should also be seen as a public health issue. It believes that having public health goals for water would help to reduce the risks arising from AMR in our waterways.106
Government Response Summary
The government agrees to the recommendation to address sewage dumping as a public health issue, stating it will respond to the Independent Water Commission's recommendation for public health to be a statutory objective for water companies via a White Paper in Autumn 2025.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
8.1 The department agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Autumn 2027 8.2 The Independent Water Commission, chaired by Sir Jon Cunliffe, published its report on 21 July 2025. It recommends making public health a statutory objective for water companies and highlights their role in tackling antimicrobial resistance through better wastewater management. It also recommends that the UK and Welsh governments should tighten regulatory oversight of sludge activity by moving the treatment, storage and use of sludge into the Environmental Permitting Regulations. The department will provide a full response via a White Paper in Autumn 2025, setting out its approach to embedding public health across the water system, ensuring public health is addressed substantively and systemically. 8.3 The department has been working with water companies under their Chemical Investigations Programme (CIP), to improve the evidence base on the behaviour and fate of contaminants during treatment processes. Research from phase 3 of CIP investigated antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and sewage sludge and evidence suggested that anaerobic digestion – the prevalent sewage sludge treatment method – demonstrated some level of effectiveness in reducing AMR in sludge. Building upon these findings, phase 4 aims to delve deeper into the relationship between AMR and sludge and will report in 2027. 8.4 Defra is also in discussions with DHSC and stakeholders to understand the evidence gaps on human health and wastewater. The department will commission further research to address these gaps by Summer 2026 and will continue to test and improve the evidence base.