"My Lords, over 80% of England is in drought, and that affects around 50 million people. Parts of the country have entered severe drought for the first time, due to depleted reservoirs following an extremely dry summer. This Government are committed to a twin-track approach to improving water resilience and …..." Baroness Hayman of Ullock - View Speech
"The Government engage with water companies, the Environment Agency, the Met Office and key sectors through the National Drought Group, because we want to ensure proper co-ordinated action. The Met Office regularly updates on the potential impacts of El Niño, which helps to ensure that the group is prepared to …..." Baroness Hayman of Ullock - View Speech
"I always like ambition—it is a very good thing—but we have to set targets that are attainable and achievable. As the noble Duke said, water companies have to halve leakage across the industry by 2050—that is compared with 2017-18 levels. We saw a 12% reduction in total leakage last year, …..." Baroness Hayman of Ullock - View Speech
"The noble Baroness makes a very good point. One of the issues, not just of on-farm reservoirs but others around farming, is the planning system. We as a department have been working very closely with MHCLG to update planning guidance in order to strengthen support for agricultural infrastructure, whatever form …..." Baroness Hayman of Ullock - View Speech
"I assure the noble Baroness that we are actively working on the water Bill. It is an absolute priority, not just for the department but for the Prime Minister. We absolutely need to get it right. There is a lot of work going into it. A lot of changes are …..." Baroness Hayman of Ullock - View Speech
"Clearly, I am not in a position to tell noble Lords what will be in the Bill, but I can assure the noble Lord that nature-based solutions are a very important part of the Government’s work in managing the situation regarding climate change and drought. Providing more integrated sustainable solutions …..." Baroness Hayman of Ullock - View Speech
"Obviously, desalination is an important part of moving forward when we have concerns around the amount of water that we have, and we are very keen to work more proactively in this space. One thing I am sure my noble friend is aware of is that water companies need to …..." Baroness Hayman of Ullock - View Speech
"The simple answer to that is that the rules for special administration make it quite difficult for the Government to put Thames Water into special administration while it is still financing itself. I know the noble Baroness is saying that it is about to run out of money, but on …..." Baroness Hayman of Ullock - View Speech
"We had a Question on reservoirs last week, and I think I made the point then that I am going to make now, which is that people are desperate for reservoirs before they have been built, because they do not have enough water. As soon as you try to build …..." Baroness Hayman of Ullock - View Speech
"The noble Baroness mentioned Singapore. It is important to say that water recycling is used widely around the world, not just in Singapore but in Australia, the USA and in Belgium. Southern Water is one of the companies that are developing water recycling plants for the future. It is also …..." Baroness Hayman of Ullock - View Speech