Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs written question – answered at on 22 June 2026.
Joy Morrissey
Opposition Deputy Chief Whip (Commons)
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make representations to Thames Water to continue to deliver (a) the Little Marlow Sewage Treatment Works upgrades and (b) other upgrades they have committed to.
Emma Hardy
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
This Government has been clear there is no excuse for poor performance, and we will not look the other way while companies routinely fail to meet agreed standards. Water companies must take seriously their role in meeting the public and regulators’ expectations. Thames Water, along with the rest of the sector, must step up to deliver infrastructure improvements.
The Government has set out its new vision for water through a white paper published on 20 January 2026. In the meantime, we will continue to work with water sector regulators to hold companies to account for poor performance and drive improvements that benefit customers and the environment during the transition to a single regulator.
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Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
A document issued by the Government laying out its policy, or proposed policy, on a topic of current concern.Although a white paper may occasion consultation as to the details of new legislation, it does signify a clear intention on the part of a government to pass new law. This is a contrast with green papers, which are issued less frequently, are more open-ended and may merely propose a strategy to be implemented in the details of other legislation.
More from wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_paper
