Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

River Wear: Pollution

Thursday 28 April 2022 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Environment Agency routinely assesses pollution levels in the River Wear and works with other agencies to reduce pollution.
  • Mary Foy asked questions regarding pollution in the River Wear following a field trip by pupils at St Thomas More School in Belmont.
  • The Minister commended the pupils for their environmental awareness and noted that the Government prioritizes reducing water and river pollution.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Mary Foy Lab City of Durham
Environment
Context

The River Wear has ongoing pollution issues, impacting local wildlife and water quality. The Environment Agency works with other organizations to address these problems.

Question

What recent assessment has his Department made of the level of pollution in the River Wear?

Answer from Rebecca Pow

The Environment Agency routinely assesses pollution levels in the River Wear, and it is working with the Coal Authority and Northumbrian Water to reduce pollution. The EA will take the strongest enforcement action where necessary, and improving water quality is a Government priority.

Answered
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Q2 Mary Foy Lab City of Durham
Environment
Context

Year 5 and 6 pupils at St Thomas More School found high levels of pollution during a field trip, especially plastic waste. They requested that their representative speak to address this issue.

Question

Following their field trip to the River Wear last month, year 5 and 6 pupils at St Thomas More School in Belmont were saddened by the levels of pollution in the river, so they have asked me to come here today to keep everyone on the right track. Can the Minister tell the pupils of St Thomas More School what the Government plan to do to help clean up the River Wear to protect local wildlife and preserve the beauty of the riverside?

Answer from Rebecca Pow

I commend the St Thomas More primary school pupils for going out, and it is wonderful to get our children out in the environment. It is interesting and perhaps disappointing that they found pollution, but the message to them is that this Government are absolutely on water and river pollution. Indeed, our new proposed target to reduce the amount of pollution in rivers such as the Wear in old abandoned mining areas by 50% by 2030 will make a genuine difference, as will our raft of other measures to tackle storm sewage overflows.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask for cleaning up the River Wear was not addressed with concrete actions beyond general statements and proposed targets.

How: Government Priority, New Proposed Target

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