This week in Parliament I secured a debate on sewage discharge in our chalk streams.
As the new MP for Harpenden and Berkhamsted, I am privileged to represent four of the world’s chalk streams: the River Bulbourne, the River Lea, the River Gade and the River Ver.
From the debate, I secured a meeting with the Minister for Water and Flooding about the situation of the River Ver at Markyate and followed up with a meeting with Ofwat to highlight the plight of our local rivers and the need for action.
With only around 200 chalk streams in the whole world, often called England’s rainforests, we must protect them.
Due to the chalk in the river, the temperature and purity of the unpolluted water provide a perfect habitat for a wealth of wildlife from Brown Trout to Kingfishers.
More than that, these are places families love to play from Batford Springs to the ford at Redbournbury Mill.
The Ver Valley Society, having higher levels of e-coli in the River Ver, highlights worrying developments for families hoping to relax in our local landscapes.
The River Ver has seen over 2,500 hours pumped through the sewage overflow this year alone. This is simply not good enough, and the Conservatives repeatedly let us down failing to regulate water companies properly.
Although Ofwat has finally taken action, ordering water companies to return £158m to customers via lower bills, we must go further.
I’m calling for a Blue Flag status to protect our precious waterways, to replace Ofwat with a stronger regulator - the Clean Water Authority, and calling for the government to enforce tougher restrictions on water companies.
This week in Parliament I also raised the issue of Luton Airport expansion, as local people continue to be blighted by the noise from the aircraft and are highly concerned about the expansion.
I also continued to campaign on social care and support for unpaid carers with questions to the Secretary of State of Health and Social Care.
As carers work hard to support us and the NHS, we must do more to support them, as well as reform social care overall.
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