Last month Toby Perkins travelled to Cornwall in his role as Shadow Minister for Nature and Rural Affairs to see the extent of sewage pollution and meet with stakeholders to understand what can be done to tackle this pressing issue.

On March 27^th the Environment Agency released figures which showed that Southwest Water discharged sewage was discharged for 530,737 hours in South West England last year, an 83% rise on 2022. The number of sewage discharges under Southwest Water’s watch skyrocketed by 54%, from 37,649 sewage spills in 2022 to 58,249 in 2023. Toby met with Southwest Water to discuss what steps they are taking to minimise the impact of sewage spills and stop toxic sewage entering our waterways.

The following day, Toby visited Presingoll Farm and met farmer Mark Williams. Toby saw for himself the great work that Mark and his family have undertaken to produce food whilst looking after nature and soil quality. The Williams also demonstrated the diversification they have undertaken to their farming business including a highly successful venture into commercial tree planting. The Williams’ farm shows many of the changes that will be required to meet ambitious statutory targets on nature and tree planting and to effectively transition away from the Common Agricultural Policy to Environmental Land Management Schemes.

At Trevaunance Cove Toby saw for himself the sewage outflow pipe which was being used to pollute the beach. He met Surfers Against Sewage, a Cornwall-based charity that campaigns against sewage pollution, and local beach users and discussed with them the impact that pollution was having on them and their enjoyment of the beach. Many local people were deeply affected by the pollution and spoke passionately about how it affected their access to the sea.

Toby said: “The evidence is clear. We don’t need the dither and delay of a consultation, we need immediate action. Water companies need to be held to account in terms of bonuses and criminal charges.”

“Instead of imposing Labour’s ban on water bosses’ bonuses, Steve Barclay has weakly chosen to only talk about doing it.”