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Rivers: Environment Protection

Asked by Freddie van MierloLiberal DemocratDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled Answered 30 June 2025UIN 62408

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Chalk Stream recovery pack.

Answered by Emma Hardy

Cleaning up our waters, including iconic sites such as chalk streams is a top Government priority. That is why on 23 October 2024, the Secretary of State announced the launch of an independent commission to fundamentally transform how our water system works.

Fixing the systemic issues in the water system is essential to address the multiple pressures facing chalk streams, namely over abstraction, phosphorous pollution and physical modifications of habitats. Restoring our chalk streams to better ecological health is part of our overall programme of reforms for the water sector.

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