Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 42
42
Accepted
Defra and Ofwat developing water industry investment plan to reduce storm overflows and upgrade treatment works.
Recommendation
Defra and Ofwat have been working together to determine an investment plan for the water industry, setting expectations to reduce the number of storm overflows by 45% compared with 2021 and to upgrade over 1,700 water treatment works. Defra expects to receive recommendations from 100 House of Commons Library, Sewage Discharges, 24 May 2024 101 C&AG’s Report, para 3.16 102 Q 33 103 AR0002, AR0003, AR0004, AR0005, AR0007, AR0015 104 C&AG’s Report, paras 9, 2.35, 3.17, Figure 1 105 Qq 91–92 106 Qq 91–92 21 the Independent Water Commission in the summer of 2025 on how to tackle systemic issues and transform the water sector. VMD told us that it is committed to tackling this issue.107 Data collection and sharing
Government Response Summary
The government agrees to the recommendation to improve wastewater management, stating it will provide a full response via a White Paper in Autumn 2025 to the Independent Water Commission's recommendations, including commissioning further research into AMR and wastewater by Summer 2026.
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.