Written questions by Mayer.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the number of sewage discharges into waterways there have been in Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard constituency in the last 12 months.

Anglian Water provides data on storm overflow discharges in near real time on their website. The Environment Agency will publish the 2024 Event Duration Monitoring data, showing how long and how often storm overflows have been used, in March 2025. The data for previous years is available here. The Secretary of State recently met with water company bosses, including Anglian Water, to make it clear that water firms will be held accountable for their performance for customers and the environment. Furthermore, after writing to Ofwat, the Secretary of State has secured agreement that funding for vital infrastructure investment is ringfenced and can only be spent on upgrades benefiting customers and the environment. Ofwat will also ensure that when money for investment is not spent, companies refund customers, with money never allowed to be diverted for bonuses, dividends or salary increases. The Government also announced a new Water (Special Measures) Bill, which will turn around the performance of water companies, in the King’s Speech. The Bill will strengthen regulation, give the water regulator new powers to ban the payment of bonuses if environmental standards are not met and increase accountability for water executives. These are the first critical steps in enabling a long-term and transformative reset of the entire water sector. I would also refer the hon. Member to the Written Statement made by the Secretary of State on 18 July, HCWS3.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his Department's policy that deliberate cruelty against companion animals is a standing item on the agenda of the Animal Welfare Committee.

Causing unnecessary suffering to an animal is an offence under Section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. In 2021, the maximum sentence for this offence was increased to five years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. The Government can seek independent, authoritative, impartial and timely advice from the Animal Welfare Committee for all animal welfare matters relating to animals kept by people. In relation to companion animal welfare, the Committee advises the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Scottish and Welsh Governments. The Committee produce reports according to topics agreed annually, but do not have standing items on their agenda. More information on AWC’s terms of reference and workplan is available on the GOV.UK page (here).

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of (a) Anglian Water and (b) all water companies in England in (i) identifying and (ii) removing barriers that prevent the connectivity of surface waters.

The Government recognises the need for well-connected surface waters, so that water can be moved to where it is most needed. Water companies, including Anglian Water, have focussed their resilience improvements on water grids and transfers, a number of which have been built in recent years. The resilience of our water supply has been strengthened by the action taken by Government, regulators and the private sector, including water companies investing £469 million to investigate additional resources like new reservoir projects and inter-regional water transfers.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a minimum complaints threshold for investigating noises that could be a statutory nuisance under th

The Noise Policy Statement for England aims to ensure that noise is managed effectively to promote good health and quality of life. Defra is responsible for the domestic legislation covering statutory nuisance, although the environmental health department...

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the risk of flooding in central Bedfordshire.

The Environment Agency (EA)’s current Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Capital Programme (2021-2027) includes 10 projects within the central Bedfordshire area, with a current estimated total project value of £3.5 million. This includes several schemes delivered by Central Bedfordshire Council to better manage surface water in locations which have experienced surface water flooding historically, including Blunham and Shefford. The EA is also completing a first stage appraisal of the flood risk to Leighton Buzzard to better understand the case for flood risk mitigation and the likelihood of achieving a cost beneficial solution. It expects this to be completed by autumn 2024. The EA’s annual maintenance programme for main rivers in the catchment includes desiltation projects, vegetation clearance and flood defence improvements, and is funded by a combination of Government grant in aid and local flood funding. The EA is also working in partnership with Central Bedfordshire Council, the Internal Drainage Board and Anglian Water to gather evidence about flooding during January 2024, following one of the wettest winters on record. This work will identify the causes of flooding and determine any necessary actions. The EA has also been engaging with communities to understand the impacts from these events.