Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs's pledge

Sewage pollution from water companies will be cut in half by the end of the decade, the Environment Secretary Steve Reed will pledge today (Sunday 20 July).

Made under the 2024 to 2026 Starmer Labour government, as GOV.UK labels it.

Made 2025-07-19 · Deadline by the end of the decade · Where it was made · archived copy · Government publication

What the official figures show

Average spills per storm overflow, England, 2024 (baseline)

31.8spills

2026-10-23 · Environment Agency, Event Duration Monitoring · receipt

Average spills per storm overflow, England, 2025 (latest)

20.5spills

2026-10-23 · Environment Agency, Event Duration Monitoring · receipt

Storm overflow spill events recorded, England, 2025 (latest)

291492spill events

2026-10-23 · Environment Agency, Event Duration Monitoring · receipt

These figures are repeated from their sources and update automatically. We don't say whether the pledge has been kept.