Member

The Government are already taking action to protect these iconic sites. New protections in the Water (Special Measures) Act enable us to hold water companies to account, ensuring that chalk stream habitats are preserved for future generations. I was delighted to see that, following our discussions on the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill. We are also prioritising action and investment for chalk streams. Water companies will invest £2 billion over the next five years to deliver more than 1,000 targeted actions for chalk stream restoration as part of our Plan for Change. We are reducing the risk of harmful abstractions by an estimated 126 million litres daily, protecting vital waterflows to these fragile ecosystems. I visited the Pix Brook chalk stream at Standalone Farm in Letchworth during the Summer Recess, and it was almost dry. We have to continue to monitor the water flow in our chalk streams. It still looked beautiful, but it is a real issue.