Written question asked by Barry Gardiner (Labour) on Monday, 23 March 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 25 March 2026. It was answered by Emma Hardy (Labour) on Thursday, 26 March 2026 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Water Companies: Prosecutions
- Question
-
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for the 28 enforcement undertakings accepted by the Environment Agency from water companies between 26 July 2024 and 12 February 2026, if there was a recommendation to prosecute from the investigating officers in any of the cases.
- Answer
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There have been 31 enforcement undertakings accepted by the Environment Agency from water companies between 26 July 2024 and 12 February 2026 as detailed below. Of these, 20 have been closed. 5 have a prosecution recommendation by an Investigating Officer. The Environment Agency is unable to provide additional information for the remaining 11 as they are related to active investigations.
In all 5 cases, the EU offers were received after the Investigating Officer recommended prosecution. Environment Agency officers can recommend prosecution but the final decision on the sanction used is made at a more senior level, in conjunction with Lawyers and in line with the Environment Agency enforcement and sanctions policy - GOV.UK.
EU REF
Company
Date of Acceptance
EU516
Thames Water Utilities Ltd
18/09/2024
EU593
Thames Water Utilities Ltd
20/09/2024
EU745
Yorkshire Water Services Limited
24/09/2024
EU983
Thames Water Utilities Ltd
01/10/2024
EU936
Thames Water Utilities Ltd
05/12/2024
EU915
Severn Trent Water Limited
24/12/2024
EU984
Thames Water Utilities Ltd
30/12/2024
EU1064
Severn Trent Water Limited
30/12/2024
EU886
Thames Water Utilities Ltd
06/01/2025
EU1008
Anglian Water Services Ltd
17/01/2025
EU947
United Utilities Water Limited
22/01/2025
EU821
Wessex Water Services Ltd
30/01/2025
EU1122
United Utilities Water Limited
24/02/2025
EU1089
Severn Trent Water Limited
29/05/2025
EU1147
Anglian Water Services Ltd
02/07/2025
EU1086
Yorkshire Water Services Limited
24/07/2025
EU1095
Yorkshire Water Services Limited
25/07/2025
EU1149
Wessex Water Services Ltd
08/08/2025
EU1059
Yorkshire Water Services Limited
29/09/2025
EU1091
Severn Trent Water Limited
29/09/2025
EU1167
Severn Trent Water Limited
29/09/2025
EU1131
Anglian Water Services Ltd
30/09/2025
EU1148
Anglian Water Services Ltd
04/11/2025
EU1172
Severn Trent Water Limited
11/11/2025
EU1154
Yorkshire Water Services Limited
02/12/2025
EU1151
Yorkshire Water Services Limited
16/12/2025
EU843
Thames Water Utilities Ltd
18/12/2025
EU1152
Yorkshire Water Services Limited
19/01/2026
EU868
Severn Trent Water Limited
09/02/2026
EU1099
Severn Trent Water Limited
09/02/2026
EU1159
Yorkshire Water Services Limited
10/02/2026
Secondary information
- Type
- Written question
- Reference
- 122637
- Session
- 2024-26
- Subjects
- Enforcement Environment Agency Prosecutions Standards Water companies
- Contains statistics
- Yes
- Link
- View this Written question on www.parliament.uk
Librarians' tools
- Timestamp
- 2026-03-26 11:35:13 +0000
- URI
- http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/commons/2024-26/122637
- In Indexing
- http://indexing.parliament.uk/Content/Edit/1?uri=http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/commons/2024-26/122637
- In Solr
- https://search.parliament.uk/claw/solr/?id=http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/commons/2024-26/122637