Sewage (Inland Waters) Bill delayed AGAIN
The Sewage (Inland Waters) Bill, which was due to be voted on by MPs in Parliament on the 22nd January, has unfortunately been delayed again. Due to lockdown, government have decided to stop parliament from meeting on Fridays which are when Private Members Bills, like the Sewage (Inland Waters) Bill, would normally be debated.
Like all of you, we are extremely frustrated by the constant delay to the Bills progress, especially given all the work that you have been putting in to raise awareness of the raw sewage being pumped into rivers and the ocean.
However, don’t be disheartened. Government and Parliament are listening to our demands and we are already making change happen. In response to our 44,691 signature strong petition, the Government have set up a task force to address the issue of storm overflows, and the Environment Audit Committee have just launched an enquiry into water quality, to challenge water companies and ministers.
This is also not the end of the road for the Bill, it will be back!
As ocean and river activists, we have done brilliantly by already securing the support of over 100 MPs for the Bill. So, this delay means that we have more time to increase support and ensure the Bill has the best chance of making it into law.
Now is the time to call on your MP and ask them to Pipe Up to help #EndSewagePollution.
Henry Swithinbank, Policy Officer at SAS said,
“It’s very disappointing that the Bill has been delayed yet again. When lots of us are looking towards the ocean and blue spaces for our daily dose of stoke its clear we need to End Sewage Pollution now.
But this issue is not going away, parliament is listening, the government is listening and even water companies are starting to listen. So, lets use this delay to shout louder as the voice of rivers and ocean and make sure that our elected officials pipe up for rivers when the Bill comes back!”