Southern Water has admitted sea pollution incidents off Kent coastline and others inland – the company released sewage into water just weeks after getting a record £90 million fine for almost 7,000 illegal discharges.

The Government’s first Land Use Framework for England says that by 2050 higher water quality in rivers and groundwaters, and fewer pollutants entering water courses from fields, roads and homes, will translate to lower treatment costs for water companies than they would otherwise be.

The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) is warning the Government to do more on PFAS pollution and urgently restrict the non-essential uses of chemicals labelled as ‘forever chemicals’.

South East Water chiefs came under tough questioning in their latest appearance before a sceptical House of Commons Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee last week in a further and lengthy session on water outtages which overran by almost an hour later than originally scheduled.

Water UK, the organisation that represents all of the UK water companies, is calling for the self-monitoring regime to be scrapped.

The government has launched a new consultation on its proposal to bring together the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) and the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) to create a single, unified Industry Training Board (ITB) to act on behalf of the combined construction and engineering construction sectors.