Environment Secretary Steve Reed puts his job on the line over water targets

The government has announced plans to halve sewage pollution from water companies by 2030, with the help of £104 billion of private investment. On the BBC this morning, Laura Kuenssberg interviewed Environment Secretary Steve Reed, noting that halving current sewage pollution would only bring us back to the levels of 2019, when there were 225,000 sewage spills. Reed claimed that that wasn’t the end of the government’s ambition, and said the target was to restore all water bodies to ‘good health’ within a decade. Reed emphasised that water pollution has got worse every year, and that Labour have drawn a line now to ‘turn this situation around’. He called for a ‘revolution in the rules that govern our water sector’ in order to meet targets where previous governments have failed. Kuenssberg asked if water companies would be allowed to increase bills again, and Reed admitted it would be up to the regulators. When asked if his job should be on the line if he fails to meet his targets, Reed replied, ‘it should be, shouldn’t it?’

Farage on nationalising 50% of the water industry: ‘It doesn’t need to be a big sum of money’

Also speaking to Kuenssberg about the water sector was Nigel Farage, who proposed taking half of the industry into public control.........

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