Speeches by Hardy.

“Thank you so much for having me today and for also raising the problems we have around PFAS as an issue. I look forward to working in collaboration with your Committee. When it comes to the plan, I am very proud of it. I am obviously not here to speak for the previous Government’s action or inaction, but I will talk fo…”

“Yes. It is important that we look at how we move away from PFAS and look at alternatives, but with the proviso that we do not then use a similar chemical that is just as bad. I just put that caution out there. One thing is clear regulation and using regulation as a tool. Again, that goes back to what I have been talkin…”

“The part on reform to UK REACH.”

“Each Department has a chief scientific adviser, as I am sure you know, and the chief scientific advisers of all different Departments have discussions together about some cross-Government issues. On the exact details of what currently the chief scientific adviser is working on in this area I would have to come back to …”

“I hate to repeat myself, but I think this is why we need to do the research and get the evidence to find out what the accurate situation is. At the moment we are dealing with estimates and projections. We are not dealing with facts. Until we have that evidence, we cannot have an accurate idea about what the cost would …”

“As I mentioned earlier, this is why research and monitoring matter, because you cannot give an accurate estimate to Treasury if you do not have the information you need. This is why in the plan research is mentioned so often and why I am so pleased it is, because it needs to be there. If I want to go to Treasury and sa…”

“Yes. On monitoring we do exceptionally well. Do you want to explain about the monitoring, Marc?”

“Yes, you are right in that there are only two hazardous waste incinerators permitted to accept PFAS. At the moment we judge that there is sufficient capacity to meet needs, but as we take more action on this, as we discover more and therefore want to destroy more, we anticipate there will be greater demand. That is why…”

“The EA issues—I do not know if it is guidance or if it is statutory guidance on what is the best way to destroy it. At the moment what it has said is that the best way to destroy it is 1,100°C incineration. However, it is constantly looking at that. As I say, this could be a growth story. This could be where there is i…”

“There is definitely innovation in how we deal with PFAS and what we can do to destroy it, as was highlighted by the Environment Agency earlier. At the moment, the way to destroy it is 1,100°C incineration. However, there are other innovative ways coming on, but obviously we want to carefully monitor them to ensure that…”

“We are doing a roundtable soon, actually, with DBT. It is slightly different. That is looking more at consumer products and trying to get ahead of the problem so we prevent it happening in the first place.”

“I did walk into that, didn’t I? I thank my hon. Friend. If he wants to send that through to me, I will of course take a serious look at it. I am very keen to be getting out and about when it is a bit less wet—but rain should be what I am used to. Restoring the health of our rivers is fundamental to safeguarding nature,…”

“I have seen the hon. Lady’s letter. I will get told off by officials for saying this, but I am basically looking at whether I can come back to the Wye and do something there with everybody. If not, we can do something in Parliament. I went to the Wye last year, and we announced our £1 million research fund to look at w…”

“It is a pleasure, Ms Butler, to serve under your chairwomanship in Westminster Hall for the first time. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset (Lloyd Hatton) for securing this debate and for all the passion, care and interest that he has consistently shown in this issue. I share his excitement about the wil…”

“I have huge sympathy and support for the hon. Lady and her constituents in the situation that they have faced in the last few weeks and I understand the urgent need for compensation, not just for her residents, but many of the neighbouring constituencies. She mentioned that it is the first time that Ofwat has ever done…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Allin-Khan. I thank the hon. Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Tom Gordon) for securing this debate. I am particularly delighted he has done so today—great timing—since today we have published our new vision for water. These are once-in-a-generation reforms to…”

“As the right hon. Gentleman has noted, I cannot speak about live investigations, but I will reflect on what he outlines. The hon. Member for Epping Forest (Dr Hudson) mentioned livestock and its importance, something that came up a lot during our many calls. Yes, we need adequate water for people, but there have also b…”

“One of the reasons we introduced the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 and the bonus ban was exactly to ensure that people who get a bonus have earned it and that people who have not earned one do not get one. That seems a pretty straightforward way of doing things in my mind. This goes back to the point made by collea…”

“I completely agree. Poor communication is a theme that has run throughout this crisis; again, it is something that needs to be looked at seriously when the Drinking Water Inspectorate does its investigation, and something that I hope Ofwat will look at as well.”

“I completely share the hon. Lady’s outrage. When communication was specifically requested by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary, we asked for that information to be made available to Members of Parliament. A bottled water station was requested—it beggars belief, to be honest. As I have said, Ofwat and the Drinking Wate…”