Thank you for contacting me about storm overflows.
This is the first Government to set out expectations that water companies must take steps to significantly reduce storm overflows and MPs voted for this instruction to be put on an enhanced legal footing.
Let me be clear, the amount of sewage discharge by water companies into our rivers is unacceptable; water companies must significantly reduce sewage discharges from storm overflows as a priority. If we do not start to see significant improvements I am assured that ministers will not hesitate to take action through a swathe of new measures directly on water companies in the Environment Bill.
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