02 Oct 2024

The Guardian reports that the new Labour government used “economically illiterate” analysis paid for by water companies in order to argue against the nationalisation of the sector in England. In an official letter recently sent to anti-sewage groups, civil servants cited a paper by the Social Market Foundation as a reason to avoid nationalisation as part of […]

25 Sep 2024

In his first major foreign policy speech, Foreign Secretary David Lammy has made clear that action on climate is action on our security, our prosperity and our future. At the Kew Lecture, Lammy talked about “resetting Britain’s approach to climate and nature”, setting out three priorities Building a Global Clean Power Alliance Unlocking more climate […]

25 Sep 2024

The government has accepted that not enough progress has been made in improving the water environment in England. The admission came in response to the Office for Environmental Protection’s (OEP) report on the implementation of the Water Framework Directive regulations and River Basin Management Planning. Defra’s response recognises that “The government agrees that there has […]

25 Sep 2024

George Monbiot, writing in The Guardian, says more floods are coming to Britain, and that the network of public bodies supposed to safeguard us are bastions of self-interest. Labour’s first stage of government resembles a vast forensic excavation. As it works through the Conservatives’ midden of horrors, it discovers an ever greater legacy of underinvestment, […]

18 Sep 2024

Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Steve Reed has convened a new Floods Resilience Taskforce to turbocharge the development of flood defences and bolster the nation’s resilience to extreme weather. The Taskforce brings together the Secretary of State and Floods Minister Emma Hardy with representatives from Defra, MHCLG, Home Office, Cabinet Office, […]

18 Sep 2024

Following last week’s publication of the Water (Special Measures) Bill, the government has given a clearer indication of the importance of water sector investment in the delivery of growth and job creation. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed and Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Lord Livermore hosted a roundtable […]

28 Aug 2024

The government has published a list of sensitive catchment areas designated as catchment permitting areas under the Water Industry Act 1991. The Secretary of State has designated the following catchments as catchment permitting areas for the purposes of Chapter I, Part IV of the Water Industry Act 1991: River Avon Solent Teesmouth and Cleveland Coast […]