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UK Parliament
Freshwater Policy

Environment Minister questioned by Lords Committee

7 March 2012

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Richard Benyon MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Natural Environment and Fisheries at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), will appear before the Lords Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment EU Sub-Committee on Wednesday 7 March as part of their inquiry into the EU’s freshwater policy.

Witness

At 10.45am, Wednesday 7 March, Committee Room 3A, Palace of Westminster

  • Richard Benyon MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Natural Environment and Fisheries at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)

Mr Benyon will be questioned by the Committee on issues such as:

  • whether the Government should inject more urgency into securing future water supplies given the forecasts for imminent water shortages
  • whether the Government has shown a lack of ambition in planning to meet targets for improving the quality of watercourses under the EU Water Framework Directive;
  • whether his Department and the Environment Agency, as “top-down” organisations, are genuinely able to encourage and sustain local involvement in managing river catchments (as the Directive requires)
  • whether there is adequate co-ordination between EU water policy and other EU actions, notably the Common Agricultural Policy and regional policy

Further information