'The Government will halve sewage pollution by the end of the decade,' vows Environment Secretary

The target - which is compared to 2024 levels - is to be announced by Mr Reed on Sunday morning.

The Government said it marks the first time ministers have set a clear target on reducing sewage pollution to which they will be held accountable.

The pledge comes amid ongoing Government efforts to respond to widespread public anger over record sewage spills and rising bills, with the Environment Agency revealing on Friday that serious pollution incidents caused by water firms across England increased by 60% last year compared with 2023.

The watchdog said companies recorded a total of 2,801 pollution incidents in 2024, up from 2,174 in 2023.

Of these, 75 were categorised as posing “serious or persistent” harm to wildlife and human health – up from 47 last year.

"Families have watched their local rivers, coastlines and lakes suffer from record levels of pollution," Mr Reed said.

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"My pledge to you: the Government will halve sewage pollution from water companies by the end of the decade.”

The plans will also include a commitment to work with devolved governments across the UK to ban wet wipes containing plastic, among other measures.

There are also aims to cut phosphorus - a pollutant that causes algae blooms which are harmful to wildlife - from treated wastewater in half by 2028.

The announcement comes ahead of the publication of the Independent Water Commission's landmark review into the sector on Monday morning.

The commission was established by the UK and Welsh governments as part of their joint response to failures in the industry, but ministers have already said they'll stop short of nationalising water companies.

Ministers have vowed a “root and branch reform” to the industry and has introduced a package of measures over the last year to cut pollution levels.

The Government has also hailed plans for £104 billion to be invested into upgrading crumbling pipes and building new treatment works.

The Environment Agency has received a staggering £189 million to support hundreds of enforcement offices for inspections and prosecutions.

Despite the plans, Conservative shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins has accused Labour of failing to deliver on the "big promises to reform the water system" the party "came to power with".

“Labour came to power with big promises to reform the water system, but so far, they have simply copied previous Conservative government policy and have done nothing to stop water bill rises," she said.

"Labour must be transparent about where the £104 billion investment is coming from as some will come through customer bill rises."

"They claim this while they have failed and hindered attempts to secure the funding needed to stabilise Thames Water.

"Labour’s water plans must also include credible proposals to improve the water system’s resilience to droughts, without placing an additional burden on bill payers and taxpayers."