Therese Coffey is facing calls to resign after figures showed water companies dumped sewage into waterways over 300,000 times last year.
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said it was a “national scandal” and accused the environment secretary of ignoring “environmental crimes” on her watch.
“Therese Coffey must now resign or be sacked so we can have an environment secretary who actually cares about saving our rivers from destruction,” he said.
“Her plans to solve this crisis would allow sewage dumping to happen for decades to come, poisoning more animals and destroying precious chalk streams.”
Data from the Environment Agency showed sewage was spilled 301,091 times in 2022, equivalent to 824 times every day.
This is lower than the 370,000 spills in 2021, but the agency said this was due to dry weather, not the actions of water companies.
Pop star and environment campaigner Feargal Sharkey also backed the calls for Coffey to resign.
The Lib Dems have made tackling sewage a key part of their local election campaign.
Speaking at the party’s spring conference earlier this month, Davey predicted it would cost the Conservatives “dozens of seats” at the next general election.
The party also made water pollution a central part of its successful bid to overturn a huge 24,000 majority at the Tiverton and Honiton by-election last June.
Figures recently revealed that pay and bonus packages for water firm bosses soared by a fifth in 2021-22, despite significantly sewage spills in Britain’s waterways.
The average pay for executives at 10 firms across England and Wales jumped to £1.1 million in 2021-22, up by £193,000 on average.
There were more than 37,000 monitored sewage spills in the South West Water area last year.
Note the word “monitored”. The longer period of October to mid-May, when sewage discharges and spills are also more likely in the wetter months, are “unmonitored”.
So this is a gross understatement of the real situation. – Owl
The Environment Agency figures show that the number of incidents in 2022 were actually fewer than in 2021.
However, the agency said this was largely the result of dry weather and a subsequent drought.
Meanwhile, North Devon MP Selaine Saxby has called for year-round testing of bathing water quality.
The Conservative MP said a reduction in storm overflows in her constituency had led to “good” or “excellent” water quality.
But in the Commons Ms Saxby said testing only took place between 15 May and 30 September, and called for an extension.
Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said water companies would, by the end of the year, be required to provide water “year-round” water quality information in the event of a discharge.
She added: “And all water companies will also have to install new flow monitors on more than 2,000 waste water treatment works.”
John Halsall, South West Water’s chief operating officer, said they were reducing the use of storm overflows and had already installed “100% monitoring” on storm overflows, ahead of the government target.
He added: “We want everyone to feel confident about the water quality at their favourite beaches and to know that we are serious about reducing the use of storm overflows.
“We need to stop the overuse of storm overflows.”
In the Commons, Ms Saxby asked: “Will (the minister) consider extending the testing season for the increasing number of all-year-round bathers and surfers, or at least look for waters to be tested after a storm overflow has discharged?”
Ms Pow responded: “We are using powers in the Environment Act, and under those we require companies to make discharge data available in near real time to the public, if there has been a discharge which would affect water quality, and to monitor water quality upstream and downstream of their assets.”
Under the current system, each classification given to bathing waters has a symbol that councils must display. The classifications are: excellent, good, sufficient, and poor.
Figures published in November showed just over 97% of England’s designated bathing sites met minimum standards in 2022, down slightly on the previous year.
Ofwat publishes new “guidance”: “Water firms will be expected to take full account of their record on customer service and waterways pollution, as well as company performance overall, when deciding whether to award bonuses to senior executives.“
Water companies are facing tougher rules on bonuses for top bosses under plans outlined by the industry watchdog to ensure payouts are only made when environmental and customer service targets are met.
Ofwat said its new plans “ensure customers do not fund executive bonus payments” for poor performance.
As part of new guidance published on Thursday, water firms will be expected to take full account of their record on customer service and waterways pollution, as well as company performance overall, when deciding whether to award bonuses to senior executives.
The regulator’s review of company decisions on pay awards will be based on a wide range of criteria, including environmental performance, delivery for customers, overall financial health, and compliance issues.
It comes after figures recently revealed that pay and bonus packages for water firm bosses soared by a fifth in 2021-22, despite significantly sewage spills in Britain’s waterways.
Analysis of data by the Liberal Democrats – which is calling for a ban on bonuses for water bosses – showed the average pay for executives at 10 firms across England and Wales jumped to £1.1 million in 2021-22, up by £193,000 on average.
This comes in spite of more than 370,000 sewage spills from storm overflows in England in 2021, according to Environment Agency data.
David Black, chief executive at Ofwat, said: “In too many cases, bonuses paid do not reflect the reality of company performance.
“Customer trust is damaged when executive bonuses are not aligned to water company performance for customers and the environment.
“We said that if companies did not address this we would take action, and that is exactly what we are doing.”
Ofwat is getting tough on water firms after a raft of high-profile sewage spills and environmental performance failures in recent years.
It also announced earlier this month new powers to be able to stop suppliers paying out shareholder dividends if they fail to meet performance standards.
On the new bonus plans, Ofwat said: “Water companies are monopolies established to provide an essential service.
“They have a range of obligations to customers, communities and the environment and, through their appointments, a privileged status.
“Remuneration, whether that be for investors through their returns or executives through their performance-related executive pay, should closely reflect and take account of these responsibilities, reward excellence and, importantly, should not reward poor performance or failure.
“In a context where the performance of the sector continues to be called into question, particularly with regard to environmental performance, we do not consider that all companies are applying performance-related pay in a way that lives up to the standards that we all expect.”
The new proposals are now open for consultation until May 1.
The Consumer Council for Water (CCW) said it would be “examining the detail”.
Emma Clancy, chief executive of the CCW, said: “Customers will want to see this making a clear difference.
“Our research shows that people want to see evidence bonuses have been earned by companies delivering on commitments to their customers and the environment.
“People also want far greater transparency on pay. We want chief executives to explain to their customers – who are not able to switch supplier – why their salaries are justified.”
Bus passengers in Devon and across the South West will have to pay more to travel on Stagecoach buses from the end of this week. Unknown to many public transport users, the bus company has recently added to its website that there will be changes to bus fares from Sunday, April 2, for both adults and children.
It is believed many prices will rise from around eight to 15 per cent for commuters whether they purchase tickets online, on the bus or via the mobile app. Fees for single and return journeys are not affected and customers can still benefit from the £2 single tickets fare through the Bus Fare Cap scheme until June 30.
Stagecoach says the new prices are being introduced due to ‘cost increases’ to run services, and adds it has previously ‘frozen prices’ for three years for mobile tickets. As part of the new fares, Flexible Ticket Bundles across North Devon, Torbay and Plymouth zones will enable passengers to save up to 30 per cent.
The news comes the same week that Exeter Green Party announced it recently met with new Stagecoach South West managing director boss Peter Knight and says he shared a commitment with them for low-cost travel for children and young people and restructuring fares to make them fairer for Exeter passengers.
The new bus fares bring introduced in Exeter will see an adult Exeter DayRider paper ticket increase from £4.50 to £5, the equivalent of more than a 10 per increase. A child DayRider will rise from £3.40 to £3.90, a 14 per cent increase. NightRider tickets will go from £3.50 to £4, also a 14 per cent increase.
When it comes to weekly tickets, an Exeter seven-day MegaRider will change from £16.50 to £19, a hike of 15 per cent. An Exeter 28-day MegaRider will rise from £60.50 to £69.50, an increase of around 14 per cent.
An Exeter annual MegaRider, currently £737.60, will rise to £850, a 15 per cent increase. Families, or those travelling in groups, also face higher travel costs. A group day rider will change from £9.20 to £10, a hike of eight per cent. Other areas of Devon will face similar increases.
The new fares being introduced by Stagecoach as of April 2 (Image: Stagecoach)
On the Stagecoach website, it states: “We’ve worked to absorb significant cost increases to keep fares increases as low as possible for as long as possible for our passengers. Last year we froze prices, for the third year, across our popular mobile tickets, allowing customers to continue to enjoy daily and weekly unlimited travel for the same price as introduced in 2019.
“As part of the new fare structure, we’re rolling out Flexible Ticket Bundles across North Devon, Torbay and Plymouth zones, allowing passengers to save up to 30 per cent on the cost of daily unlimited travel. Just like the popular DayRider tickets, travel is unlimited across the day, and available via the Stagecoach Bus App.
“When you choose Flexi in bundles of FIVE or 10 you have 12 months to choose which day to use your bus ticket all while saving up to 30 per cent on the cost. The new bundles come in options of five or 10, the Flexi5 – Five DayRiders for the price of four offers customers 20 per cent off the RRP, while the Flexi10 – 10 DayRiders for the price of seven offers a saving of 30 per cent off.”
The news has not been welcomed by many bus users. On The Exeter Area Bus Action Group (TEABAG) Facebook page one member said: “So we are paying more for a crap service? Sounds about right.”
Another added: “A lesser service for a huge increase. How is that right?”
Worried about the impact the fare increase will have on bus drivers, Lady Sarah Ruth told DevonLive: “My husband is a bus driver and they received the new bus fares news yesterday [March 29]. Come Sunday/ Monday, no one will know and him and his colleagues will face days of abuse from the public for this.
“Life is stressful enough and people need to be aware fares are going up.”
Peter Knight, managing director for Stagecoach South West told DevonLive: “Stagecoach has consistently delivered some of the lowest ticket prices in the country and we are committed to continuing to keep fares as low as possible for our passengers. Prices for single and return journey’s are not affected by this change and customers can continue to benefit from the £2 fare through the Bus Fare Cap scheme until the end of June.
“Businesses such as Stagecoach have been facing significantly increased costs which continue to put pressure on fares. We have worked hard to absorb as many of these costs as possible to keep fares increases as low as possible.
“We have all seen prices rising across all areas of society in our everyday lives. Having held our prices since March 2022 for our tickets brought on the bus and those brought on our app for nearly four years, we now, unfortunately, need to review some of our bus fares from April 2.
“The money from fares goes towards paying for the day-to-day running of services as well as investing in our bus fleet and other customer improvements. Changes we’re needing to introduce to our fares reflect the rising costs of running bus services, which have increased by up to 30 per cent.
“With bus passenger numbers still needing to return to the pre-pandemic levels, it is vital that as a commercial bus operator, Stagecoach South West make decisions that will future-proof the viability of its network for our customers and colleagues.
“The money from fares goes towards paying for the day-to-day running of services, as well as securing the viability of our network of services in the South West. We want to make sure, that as far as possible, we keep our communities connected to the people and places they need to get to the most.”
This week Stagecoach has also been asked by DevonLive to confirm whether claims made by Exeter Green Party about fairer fares in Exeter is being looked into, what the new fares could be, when they might be introduced and if it will just be Exeter or other areas?
Stagecoach did not provide answers to the questions. Instead, a Stagecoach Spokesperson responded: “We are pleased to say that 99.5 per cent of our buses are operating as scheduled. We also continue to recruit across the region to ensure we maintain a full staffing quota.
“It is great to see people across the region taking advantage of the £2 fare cap initiative. However, with bus passenger numbers still needing to return to the pre-pandemic levels, it is vital that commercial bus operators make decisions that will future-proof the viability of networks for customers and colleagues.
‘The money from fares goes towards paying for the day-to-day running of services, as well as securing the viability of our network of services in the South West. We want to make sure, that as far as possible, we keep our communities connected to the people and places they need to get to the most. With the right public policies and investment, buses have a positive long-term future.”
Exeter Green Party councillors said earlier this week that they are hopeful ‘buses are moving in the right direction’ in the city following a meeting with Stagecoach boss Peter Knight. However, they expressed their disappointment to Stagecoach over the cuts to evening and Sunday services which has left routes in the city with only hourly frequencies.
Green councillor Amy Sparling, who is a member of the joint Councils’ Highways and Traffic Orders Committee, said: “We were pleased to hear Stagecoach report that their recruitment difficulties have been largely overcome and that they are now running the vast majority of services according to the timetable. This shows that buses are moving in the right direction in Exeter.
“What is needed now is an increase in service frequency. Stagecoach acknowledged that where frequencies increase, to every 20 minutes on the A route for example, passenger numbers also rise. It also seems clear that the £2 single fare cap has helped boost passenger numbers. Higher frequencies and lower fares are key to driving up passenger numbers.”
Fellow Exeter Green councillor Diana Moore added: “Mr Knight made clear his commitment to low fares for young people. As someone who has joined Stagecoach South West from Scotland, he pointed to the Scottish Greens policy, adopted by the Scottish government, where under 22’s travel free on buses.
“Greens successfully campaigned for a £1 add-on fare for children travelling with an adult in Exeter a number of years ago. It would be great to see this re-introduced to help families struggling with the cost of living and who do not own cars.
“There was also an acknowledgement that fairer fares in Exeter are needed as and when the £2 single fare cap introduced by the government comes to an end.”
The Conservative party received £3.5m from individuals and entities linked to climate denial, fossil fuels and high-pollution industries last year, according to new analysis.
The climate website DeSmog analysed Electoral Commission records, which show that the party and its MPs received funds from the aviation and construction industries, mining and oil interests, and individuals linked to the Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF), a thinktank which has denied the legitimacy of climate science.
The analysis comes after the government announced an underwhelming suite of energy policies, which rely on carbon capture and storage and which campaigners have said lack the ambition to properly phase out fossil fuels.
Caroline Lucas, the Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, said the government’s so-called green day “couldn’t be any more of a misnomer, when the Conservative party is raking in millions of pounds’ worth of dirty donations from fossil fuel interests and climate deniers”.
The Tories gained large sums from those with direct ties to fossil fuels, including more than £62,000 from Nova Venture Holdings, a firm wholly owned by Jacques Tohme, who describes himself as an “energy investor” on LinkedIn and lists his current role as co-founder and director of Tailwind Energy, an oil and gas company.
The party also received £10,000 from Alan Lusty, the CEO of Adi Group, a “leading supplier of engineering services to the petrochemical industry”, while Centrax, a firm that manufactures gas turbines, gave £35,000 to the party.
The party received £23,900 from Amjad Bseisu, CEO of the oil and gas firm EnQuest, who has argued that the North Sea could still yield further discoveries to extend its lifespan.
The largest donor to the Conservative party last year was the aviation entrepreneur Christopher Harborne, who gave £1.5m. The entrepreneur is CEO of a private jet company and also runs AML Global, an aviation fuel supplier operating in 1,200 locations across the globe with a distribution network that includes “main and regional oil companies”, according to its website.
Harborne has previously provided gifts to the Conservative MP Steve Baker, who co-founded the Net Zero Scrutiny Group, and was once a GWPF trustee. Harborne has previously given £6.5m to the Brexit party – now Reform UK – whose co-founder Nigel Farage has called for a referendum on the government’s net zero targets. The entrepreneur hasn’t publicly spoken out on the climate crisis.
The largest single donation to the party – £973,000 – came from Mark Bamford, who is part of the JCB construction empire. According to the government’s environmental audit committee, the UK’s built environment is responsible for 25% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, and “there has been a lack of government impetus or policy levers to assess and reduce these emissions”.
The Bamfords have also invested in hydrogen power, a form of energy which could help to decarbonise heavy industry if it is produced sustainably. The government has been trialling the use of hydrogen to heat homes, but a comprehensive review of scientific papers has concluded that it is unsuitable for use in home heating, and likely to remain so, despite the hopes of the UK government and plumbing industry.
Sir Michael Hintze, who was one of the early funders of the GWPF, donated £17,500 to the party.
The Conservative party and all companies and individuals mentioned have been contacted for comment.
Does the UK’s new energy and climate package measure up to what other countries are planning? For most of the experts and campaigners delivering their verdict on Thursday, the answer was a clear no.
If you are concerned about reaching net zero – don’t vote Tory, their hearts aren’t in it. – Owl
Rishi Sunak, the UK prime minister, headed to Oxfordshire on Thursday to visit a development facility for nuclear fusion, the early-stage concept that promises unlimited clean energy at an unspecified future point, if only some hefty physical constraints can be overcome.
He was accompanied by Grant Shapps, energy and net zero secretary, for the biggest energy and climate change announcement of his premiership, a comprehensive package of measures encompassing everything from onshore wind and solar power to carbon taxes and heat pumps.
“When global energy supplies are disrupted and weaponised by the likes of Putin, we have seen household bills soar and economic growth slow around the world,” said Sunak, of the “powering up Britain” energy package. “We have stepped in to shield people from its worst impacts by helping to pay around half the typical energy bill. But we are also stepping up to power Britain and ensure our energy security in the long term, with more affordable, clean energy from Britain, so we can drive down energy prices and grow our economy.”
Yet, only a few days before, the plan was to hold the launch in Aberdeen, the oil and gas capital of the UK. Local businesses had been primed, oil and gas specialists were ready, shoving their minor interests in green alternatives – such as hydrogen – hastily to the fore, for an event to be hailed as “energy security day”. Fossil fuels would be a necessary part of that energy security, they had been assured.
And, only a few days before that, the plan was not to foreground energy security at all – the event was to be called “green day”, and the focus would be clearly on renewable energy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and tackling the climate crisis, as well as bringing down household bills through supporting clean power.
Tom Burke, co-founder of the thinktank E3G, and a veteran government adviser, said the whirl of changes in the run-up to the launch were both bewildering and revealing. “This is a level of chaos that reveals the extent of the internal unresolved disputes within the party on these issues,” he said. “There is an anti-green faction in the Tory party, and this chaos has been all about them.”
The energy strategy, running to well over a thousand pages across its reams of documents, covers everything from nuclear fusion – which some experts regard as an unconvincing distraction, when technology to cut emissions today should be the priority – to electric vehicle charging points.
To complete the package, the chancellor of the exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, decided to publish his strategy for green investment at the same time, setting out how the private sector is expected to fund the comprehensive overhaul of the UK’s economy needed to reach the net zero target.
For the government, this marks a major cross-Whitehall operation, encompassing policy that spans the Department for Transport, Department for Levelling Up, Department for Business and Trade, and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, as well as the Treasury and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and Downing Street.
The government’s focus is timely, given rapidly growing concerns that the UK is falling behind internationally, which have been given new urgency by the war in Ukraine and the soaring price of energy. The US is pushing forward strongly with its $369bn Inflation Reduction Act, which aims to make America a superpower for clean energy technologies and offers tax breaks to manufacturers.
Europe, after initial outrage that it was losing its green leadership status, is now hard at work on its response. Hundreds of billions of euros of investment are at stake, and the sacred cow of state aid rules is likely to be slaughtered in pursuing them.
So the key question is: does the UK’s new energy and climate package measure up to what other countries are planning? For most of the experts and campaigners delivering their verdict on Thursday, the answer was a clear no.
Mel Evans, head of climate at Greenpeace UK, summed it up: “Ministers talk about leading the world, but the UK is not even making it to the starting blocks of the green tech race. A good government would go all in on renewable, efficient energy to give millions of people warm homes, clean air, lower bills and a safe climate – but powering Up Britain is a far cry from what this country needs.”
Despite the support for offshore wind, the talk of electric vehicles and the focus on carbon capture, there were too many misses. Plans to insulate 300,000 homes were dismissed as puny, compared with the 14m that need upgrades. Onshore wind turbines are still, in effect, banned, despite small changes to the planning rules. Hydrogen is still being touted for home heating, despite studies showing it will not work. Solar panels will not be mandated on new-build housing, and the heat pump scheme is still flawed.
Burke laid the blame at the door of a prime minister besieged by a warring party. “This feels like a party that is internally divided, that can’t come up with a coherent story, that can’t even agree what the story is,” he told the Guardian. “And this is what is spooking investors: this anti-green faction of losers who are going to turn the UK into a loser, in the global race for green prosperity.”
East Devon Watch 