• Chalk streams hit by 14,000 hours of sewage discharges last year
• ONS figures: Sickness absence days at record high
• CCHQ inquiry needed into Tory leaflet telling voters they don’t need photo ID
• Barclay: This Government hasn’t a shred of integrity left

Chalk streams hit by 14,000 hours of sewage discharges last year

• Chalk streams are known as “England’s rainforest” for animal habitats and unique to England

• Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey will today visit a chalk stream in Winchester with local dog walkers

• Fears the amount of sewage dumped into chalk streams may be higher than feared with sewage monitors found to be broken

New analysis by the Liberal Democrats has revealed water companies dumped sewage into England’s chalk streams for a staggering 14,162 hours last year.

There were 2,240 incidents of sewage discharges into chalk streams by five of the country’s water firms: Anglian Water, Southern Water, Thames Water, Wessex Water and Yorkshire Water.

Chalk streams are a unique waterway found primarily in the South of England and Yorkshire. They have been referred to as “England’s rainforest” for their special qualities which allow wildlife and plants to thrive. They are a haven for iconic species like the otter, kingfisher and salmon amongst many others. However they have come under threat from abstraction and sewage.

Today’s new analysis of Environment Agency data finds they are being polluted with endless amounts of sewage discharges.

The worst offender is Wessex Water, guilty of 1,013 separate sewage discharges into chalk streams across the West of England.

The worst chalk stream sewage discharge lasted a staggering 2,969 hours in the River Till, a tributary of the Hampshire Avon in Wiltshire by Wessex Water, which is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest as it is home to the Water Crowfoot, providing habitat for fish and snails.

Meanwhile, Thames Water discharged sewage into the Misbourne in Buckinghamshire for 1,206 hours last year. Southern Water discharged sewage 62 times in the River Meon last year, lasting over 1,000 hours.

The figure for sewage discharges may be much higher than feared. The Liberal Democrats have uncovered a large number of monitors designed to measure sewage overflows are in fact broken. One in five sewage discharges in chalk streams either had a faulty monitor or no monitor installed at all. Shockingly, one in four of Yorkshire Water’s sewage monitors setup in chalk streams was recorded as broken last year. Across the country, one in ten chalk stream sewage monitors were faulty last year according to Environment Agency data.

Ed Davey will today (Thursday 27 April) visit the River Itchen, a chalk stream in Winchester, which has suffered from sewage discharges.

Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said:

“This is a devastating blow to our country’s environment.

“England’s chalk streams are a source of great national pride which are being trashed by profiteering water companies, all whilst ministers watch on and do nothing.

“This truly is scandalous. Chalk streams must be protected from these destructive sewage dumps.

“The Conservative Government is allowing a planned desecration of our natural world.

“How many animals need to swim in vile water before the Government acts?”

ONS figures: Sickness absence days at record high

Responding to the ONS released stats today showing that the number of sickness absence days are at record highs since 2004, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care Spokesperson Daisy Cooper said:

“Behind these figures are millions of people across the country waiting in pain for treatment. People cannot see their GP when they need to, dental practices are closing their doors to NHS patients, pharmacies are closing and waits for hospital treatment are through the roof.

“It is no wonder that people have no choice but to take time off work. Patients are paying the price for this Conservative Government’s failure to invest in public health and its inability to bring NHS waiting times down and recruit more doctors.

“By running the NHS into the ground, they are not only leaving people waiting in pain and distress, they are now ruining the economy too.

“The Government must come forward with a proper plan to bring down waiting times and recruit more NHS staff, to improve people’s health and allow them to get back to work.”

CCHQ inquiry needed into Tory leaflet telling voters they don’t need photo ID

The Liberal Democrats have written to the Conservative Party Chairman Greg Hands, demanding an inquiry into local Tory leaflets wrongly telling voters they don’t need photo ID to vote in next week’s local elections.

The local Norwich Conservative Federation has admitted distributing the leaflets which incorrectly stated that “you don’t need to take any ID in order to vote.”

The Liberal Democrats called on the Conservative Party to investigate how these leaflets were printed and delivered, and what safeguards were being put in place to prevent this happening again.

It comes after figures revealed just 85,000 of the 2 million people who lack the right ID to vote applied for a free Voter Authority Certificate.

Liberal Democrat Local Government Spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said:

“Not content with disenfranchising people through their divisive and unnecessary voter ID plans, it appears the Conservatives have been wrongly telling people they don’t need photo ID to vote. It shows they are treating voters with total contempt.

“The Conservative Party must launch a proper inquiry to get to the bottom of how these highly misleading leaflets wsere printed and distributed.

“Was the material for these leaflets centrally produced by Conservative campaign headquarters, and if so how many could have been printed across the country? How many more voters could have been wrongly told they don’t need photo ID to vote in next week’s local elections?

“We need urgent answers to these questions, or the Conservative Party will surely have no choice but to scrap their voter ID measures before anyone is unfairly turned away from the polling station.”

Barclay: This Government hasn’t a shred of integrity left

Responding to reports that officials in the Department of Health and Social Care have ‘raised concerns’ about Secretary of State Steve Barclay’s behaviour, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Health and Social Care Daisy Cooper said:

“This Government hasn’t got a shred of integrity left. Each day we see more chaos, more sleaze and more scandal.

These latest reports are deeply disturbing and must be investigated immediately by the Cabinet Office. Britain has had enough of bullies running the country.

“Steve Barclay now joins a long list of Conservative Ministers to have allegations made against them for inappropriate behaviour.

“These latest reports cannot be brushed under the carpet by Rishi Sunak – he must launch an investigation immediately. No staff should ever be subjected to working with or for a bully.”