I’d like to address an issue that has set social media ablaze across the country – sewage. There is an old saying that a lie will travel halfway around the world whilst the truth is still putting its boots on, and this is what has happened here. I didn’t vote to dump sewage into our rivers and seas; I voted to stop everyone in this country from having to foot the bill of between £150 and £650 billion! To put that into context £150 billion is more than our education, policing and defence spending combined, and £650 billion is nearly twice what we spent combatting the coronavirus epidemic – it’s a lot of money – working out between £5000 and £20,000 per household in the country. Make the water companies pay? Well, yes, but where would they get the money from? From us, the billpayers. Make the Government pay? Again, where would the Government money come from? From us, the taxpayers. I don’t think any of my constituents would thank me for saddling them with a massive bill like that on top of everything else!
Let me explain – the amendment to the Environment Bill that I voted against would make it illegal for water companies to discharge any sewage into rivers and seas – sounds like a good idea, but like all these things there is far more to it. The infrastructure simply does not exist to separate all foul water from surface water, so if we had a severe downpour the water companies would have two stark choices – allow our towns and cities to flood (with water containing sewage) or discharge into the rivers and sea and receive a hefty fine. Who would pay that fine or for cleaning up the misery after the flood - we would, either in our bills or in our taxes.
The simple fact is our sewage systems date back nearly 200 years, and it is estimated that it will cost the gigantic figures above to sort it out. It will take time and a coherent plan of staged investment. For this reason, I voted to pass the Government’s comprehensive workable package of measures to sort out the issue. These place a legal duty on the Government to, amongst other things, publish a plan to reduce sewage discharges from storm overflows and produce a report on the mechanics of eliminating overflows entirely by September 1st next year. It is another example of this Government grasping the nettle on difficult issues that previous administrations have left in the “too hard pile”. The landmark Environment Bill will improve our water quality and ensure our rivers and seas become cleaner and better without bankrupting the water companies, our people or the country.
I hope this explains things better – things are rarely as straightforward as they seem – and rest assured, I am always a champion for Hartlepool, my constituents, and our beautiful rivers and coastline. I’m here to try and make things better for our town – saying I’m some sort of monster who wants to go round dumping sewerage is just plain daft!