Ben Everitt, the MP for Milton Keynes North, is has welcomed the Environment Secretary Steve Barclay’s announcement today that up to £11 million in water company fines and penalties for Anglian Water will be reinvested back into a new Water Restoration Fund (WRF).
All water company environmental fines and penalties since April 2022 have been ringfenced to directly improve the water environment. The Water Restoration Fund will offer grant funding on a competitive basis to support local groups, farmers and landowners and community-led schemes, bolstering their capacity and capabilities for on-the-ground projects to improve the water environment. This could include activities that improve biodiversity and community access to blue and green spaces in areas where water companies have been issued with fines or penalties.
Announced under the government’s Plan for Water, the Water Restoration Fund money comes exclusively from water company fines and penalties. These penalties and fines are additional to any reparations that water companies make when they have breached environmental regulations.
The £11 million in fines and penalties collected will be allocated for water improvements in the water company areas on which they were accrued in:
- Anglian Water: £3,085,000
- South West Water: £2,150,000
- Thames Water: £3,334,000
- United Utilities: £800,000
- Yorkshire Water: £1,600,750
Ben's Milton Keynes North constituency is eligible for the Anglian Water pot above, creating the potential for up to £3.08 million investment in the local area.
Ben Everitt MP said: "The Government's Plan For Water is cracking down on those who pollute our waterways so I'm delighted more than £3 million from Anglian Water is set to be reinvested into local areas like Milton Keynes.
"I've had a number of meetings with the Environment Agency and other stakeholders about the importance of this issue to local residents, and a specific issue in Olney, and I will continue to keep the pressure up."
Environment Secretary Steve Barclay said: “I know how important our precious waterways are to local communities and to nature, which is why we’re taking tough action to ensure our regulators are well-equipped to hold those who pollute them to account.
“Through the Water Restoration Fund, I will be making sure that money from fines and penalties – taken from water company profits only – is channelled directly back into our waterways.
“Community-led projects are vital to improving and maintaining water quality across the country, and this fund will help build on that success.”
Water Minister Robbie Moore added: “We all know the benefits that our waterways bring to local communities across England, which is why this government is committed to protecting and preserving them for generations to come.
“Through the launch of the Water Restoration Fund we are listening and responding to public demand for action. We have been clear that change is needed to drastically reduce sewage pollution, and we expect water companies to meet us swiftly in this ambition. Those who fail to do so face strict enforcement action.
"In just the last few months alone we have announced a ban on water bosses’ bonuses when criminal breaches have occurred, subject to consultation, plans to quadruple water company inspections next year, fast-tracked £180m investment to cut spills, launched a whistleblowing portal for water company workers to report breaches, and will soon set out our plans to ban wet wipes containing plastic.
“The Government has also spearheaded significant monitoring action from the water sector in recent years – including fitting 100% of storm overflows with monitors, meeting the target we imposed on water companies to do so by the end of 2023.
“Today’s launch is another example of how we are delivering more investment, stronger regulation and tougher enforcement across our water system, and supporting