Shellfish industry on a ‘knife edge’ as sewage dumped in designated waters for 192,000 hours last year
Untreated sewage was released into designated shellfish waters for 192,000 hours last year, new research has found.
The dirty water pouring into English seas was a 20% jump from 159,000 hours in 2022, according to the analysis of Environment Agency data by the Liberal Democrats, shared with Sky News.
The hours of sewage dumping were spread across 23,000 separate incidents – a slight fall from the previous year, but still an average of 64 times a day.
Some fishing waters in Cornwall were forced to close last year after high levels of e.coli were found in oysters and mussels, and norovirus can also be transported via human waste.
While the fishing industry can usually clean its catch before it reaches the plate, it has branded the situation a “stitch-up” because it foots the bill for the process.
Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson Tim Farron MP said: “This environmental scandal is putting wildlife at risk of unimaginable levels of pollution.
“The food we eat, and the British fisheries industry, must be protected from raw sewage.”
The Lib Dems are calling for an investigation into shellfish water quality – which should be protected from deterioration under the Water Framework Directive – and a government clampdown on polluting companies.
“It is getting worse on their watch and there will be real concerns for the fishing industry if this trend continues,” added Mr Farron, whose party is targeting many rural seats in the upcoming general election.
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Why are some forced to live with bad smells and trails of sludge?
The worst offender was South West Water, responsible for 13,000 sewage discharges, totalling 98,000 hours, followed by Southern Water, which released sewage 7,000 times for 73,000 hours.
Southern Water pointed to the fact 2023 fell in the wettest 18-month period on record, while South West Water said it has a high proportion of shellfish waters across its vast West Country coastline.
Just 9% of shellfish waters in England reach the top “class A” status – clean enough that shellfish harvested from them can be sold without being purified first.
Anything caught from lower quality waters must be cleaned first in depuration tanks, where the molluscs purge themselves with sterile water, or cannot be sold at all.
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Martin Laity, of Sailors Creek Shellfish, and his son. Pic: Martin Laity
Fishing industry on a ‘knife edge’
Martin Laity, of Sailors Creek Shellfish, has been catching native oysters from the waters of Cornwall for 34 years.
He tracks alerts on the latest sewage discharges, so he can avoid fishing in those waters, and sometimes soaks the oysters in purification tanks for days longer than mandated just to be safe.
He calls the situation a “stitch-up” because it pushes up producers’ electricity and labour costs, and reduces the value of their catch, for which they receive no compensation.
Joe Redfern from the Shellfish Association Of Great Britain said producers “live on a knife edge”.
“Just one bad result can shut down their business overnight, leading to huge impacts to their business. It is a desperate situation and one that seems to be getting worse, with some businesses shutting for good,” he said.
It wants compensation for producers from the fines the government imposed on water companies for excessive sewage releases.
A spokesperson for industry body Water UK said: “Water companies understand and sympathise with the issues these businesses and coastal communities are facing, which is why we are proposing to spend £11bn to reduce spills as quickly as possible, halving spills into shellfish water by 2030.”
An environment department (Defra) spokesperson said: “We’re already taking action to clean up shellfish sites by driving the water industry to deliver the largest infrastructure programme in history – £60bn over 25 years – to cut spills by hundreds of thousands each year.
“Shellfish sites will be prioritised alongside bathing waters and sites of ecological importance.”
Defra is also increasing inspections and regulator funding, and considering banning some water company bonuses, they added.
South West Water said its plans will ensure all shellfish sites in its area meet the government’s target of less than 10 spills per year by 2030, and Southern Water said shellfish can also be infected by farming, run off from roads, boats, marine life and pesticides.
Business
IMF upgrades UK growth forecast but issues fresh warning on national insurance cuts and debt
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said the UK economy is heading for a “soft landing” but reiterated its message to Jeremy Hunt that he should not have cut national insurance at the last two fiscal events.
In its annual check-up on the state of Britain’s economy, the Washington-based Fund also warned of a black hole in the public finances, with £30bn of spending cuts or tax rises needed to stabilise the national debt.
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The fund raised its forecast for gross domestic product growth this year from 0.5% to 0.7%, saying: “The UK economy is approaching a soft landing, with a recovery in growth expected in 2024, strengthening in 2025.”
It now expects inflation to come down to close to 2% in the coming months, and the Bank of England to cut interest rates by as much as three-quarters of a percent this year, and then another percentage point next year.
The chancellor welcomed the fund’s article IV report, saying: “Today’s report clearly shows that independent international economists agree that the UK economy has turned a corner and is on course for a soft landing.
“The IMF have upgraded our growth for this year and forecast we will grow faster than any other large European country over the next six years – so it is time to shake off some of the unjustified pessimism about our prospects.”
However, the IMF – which has warned the government explicitly in the past not to cut taxes too fast in the face of rising spending projections in future – said that the two 2p national insurance contribution (NIC) cuts at the last two fiscal events were a mistake.
“In light of the medium-term fiscal challenge,” the report said. “Staff would have recommended against the NIC rate cuts, given their significant cost.”
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The fund’s staff also believe that the government is not on track to meet its main fiscal rule, which commits it to cutting the national debt in five years time.
It believes net debt will carry on rising towards 97% of GDP in the following years, instead of falling back to 93% of GDP, as the Office for Budget Responsibility has forecast.
The fund’s double-edged report comes amid improving news for the UK.
Data released two weeks ago showed the country ended its short-lived recession with faster-than-expected growth in the first quarter of the year.
The Office for National Statistics is also expected to announce tomorrow that inflation dropped down close to the Bank of England’s 2% target in April.
That may enable the Bank to begin cutting interest rates from their 5.25% level in June or August.
The fund’s report contained a number of other recommendations for economic policy in the UK, including that the Bank of England should commit to more press conferences to explain its decisions, and that the government should consider imposing road charges to replace the revenue lost from fuel duty as electric cars become more predominant on UK roads.
Superdry is preparing to run an emergency four-week sale process if creditors block its founder’s plans to inject up to £10m of his own money into the fashion chain in a bid to stave off insolvency.
Sky News has learnt that the accelerated M&A process would be launched if a restructuring plan is not approved by creditors in the coming weeks.
Under the proposed survival plan, Julian Dunkerton would stump up either £8m in an open offer available to other shareholders or £10m in a placing that would only be accessible to him.
The share sale would precede Superdry’s delisting from the London Stock Exchange.
The restructuring plan would need to be approved by creditors, including landlords, in the coming weeks.
According to a document circulated to creditors in recent days and seen by Sky News, rejection of the restructuring plan would be followed by a four-week sale process for Superdry, with the likely outcome of a pre-pack administration deal.
Sources said that Mr Dunkerton’s willingness to inject such a substantial chunk of his own fortune into the company reflected his confidence in the company’s turnaround prospects.
Superdry’s shares have slumped to a series of record lows in recent months amid dire trading and a failed sale process.
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Last month, Sky News revealed that M&G, the asset manager which owns Superdry’s flagship store in central London, was weighing a challenge to its rescue plan.
M&G is believed to have been alarmed by the absence of their participation in a mechanism to allow creditors to benefit from any future recovery in the retailer’s performance.
The restructuring plan will not entail immediate shop closures but will impose sizeable rent cuts on landlords of dozens of Superdry outlets.
Sources said the firm is also planning to pull out of a number of overseas markets, including the US.
On Tuesday morning, shares in the company were trading at around 6.7p, giving the indebted company a market capitalisation of less than £7m.
It recently agreed an increased borrowing capacity with Hilco Capital, one of its existing lenders, while it also owes tens of millions of pounds to Bantry Bay.
Mr Dunkerton, who in 2019 returned to the company having previously been ousted, owns just under 30% of the shares.
In recent months, Superdry has raised cash by offloading its brand in regions including India and Asia-Pacific.
Superdry declined to comment.
Business
South West Water: Surge in profits for parent company of utility responsible for fixing contaminated supply in Devon
The parent company of South West Water has insisted it is focused on returning safe water supply to Brixham in Devon as it announced an 8.6% increase in underlying operating profits to £166.3m.
Around 17,000 households in the Brixham area have been told to boil their drinking water since last week following an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis which left hundreds of people ill.
The condition, which can lead to vomiting and diarrhoea, is caused by a water-born parasite, and South West Water has said it was most likely triggered by animal faeces entering a damaged pipe.
Pennon Group, the listed company which owns South West Water, Bournemouth Water and Bristol Water, said normal service had been returned to 85% of customers as it announced its annual financial results.
“Whilst the results we are announcing today are based on our performance for the last financial year, we are 100% focused on returning a safe water supply to the people and businesses in and around Brixham,” said Susan Davy, the group chief executive.
“Normal service has returned for 85% of customers, but we won’t stop until the local drinking water is returned to the quality all our customers expect and deserve. Our absolute priority continues to be the health and safety of our customers and our operational teams are working tirelessly around the clock to deliver this.”
The company also revealed it is paying out about £3.5m in compensation to customers affected by the parasite outbreak in Devon.
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‘Robust’ results – but firm defends money for shareholders
Describing financial results which include a 10% increase in revenues to more than £907m as “robust”, Ms Davy said dividend payments to shareholders, increasing by 3.8% to 44.37 pence per share, had been reduced to cover the cost of a £2.4m fine for multiple pollution incidents.
“At a time when media, public and regulatory scrutiny is high, it is important we do what is right for all. In the context of the wider group performance, we have carefully considered Ofwat’s new dividend guidance for water businesses. We have… adjusted the final dividend quantum by £2.4m, equivalent to the South West Water Court fine in 2023/24, signalling we are listening, clearing the way for long-term shareholder value.”
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Pennon Group’s net debt rose by 10% to £5.18bn, a debt ratio of more than 63%, and capital expenditure rose by almost 80% to £642.4m.
Water companies are currently negotiating with regulator Ofwat over their spending and revenue plans for the next five years, and South West Water has proposed a 20% increase in customer bills.
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