Oral QuestionDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

Tabled: 21 May 2026Answered: 4 June 2026

Asked by

Kerry McCarthy

LabourBristol East

Answering Minister

the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Answer from Hansard

Emma Hardy

I am really proud that our country has world-leading drinking water quality—in fact, our PFAS standard of 0.1 micrograms per litre is among the tightest in the whole world. I completely accept the “polluter pays” principle, although that is quite challenging for PFAS, because much of it is historical contamination. We are now working through that to make the principle work effectively in practice, while acknowledging that it is sometimes very difficult to identify the original source of PFAS.