Water Companies: Fines
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the revenue that will be raised from fines imposed on water companies for environmental breaches in the next 12 months.
Answered by Emma Hardy
Environmental enforcement, including fines, is provided by independent regulators Ofwat and the Environment Agency (EA). Enforcement activity and subsequent fines are affected by a wide variety of factors and the Government does not have a predicted figure for the next 12 months. EA fines are imposed by the courts which apply the Sentencing Council’s Environmental Offences Definite Guideline on a case-by-case basis.
On 19 June 2025, the Government announced that over £100 million in fines and penalties levied against water companies since October 2023 will be reinvested into projects to clean up our waters which could include local programmes to address pollution and improve water quality.
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