New government plan to stop sewage spills branded ‘joke’ and ‘licence to pollute’

‘Weak’ targets won’t stop the dumping, say Labour and Lib Dems

The Tory government’s new plan to tackle Britain’s sewage spill crisis with targets for water companies to make improvements by 2035 has been branded a “cruel joke” and a “licence to pollute”.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) announced on Friday that water companies will be required to invest £56bn in capital investment over the next 25 years in a bid to tackle pollution.

The firms will also have to improve how they manage all the sewage overflows discharging next to bathing water by 2035, and improve 75 per cent of the overflows at top nature sites.