Ministers have been shamed into acting on sewage discharges following a humiliating rebellion in parliament.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said that an amendment tabled today by the government to the Environment Bill “will see a duty enshrined in law to ensure water companies secure a progressive reduction in the adverse impacts of discharges from storm overflows”.
The House of Lords was preparing to vote this evening for a second time on an amendment by the Duke of Wellington that would have created a similar duty.
Peers approved a previous version of the duke’s amendment and it was supported in the House of Commons last week by 22 Conservative rebels, including nine former ministers, although MPs voted against it by 268 to 204.
The government also faced the embarrassment of the water companies themselves today announcing support for the duke’s amendment and calling on ministers to impose the duty on them, with just days to go before the COP26 summit in Glasgow.
