Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of requiring water and sewerage companies to provide capacity assessments for water supply and wastewater infrastructure before large developments are approved in areas where existing networks and receiving water bodies are under pressure.

The government is currently consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making.

The consultation includes policies that will support the development and operation of energy and water infrastructure that meets the needs of existing and future development.

The policies in question emphasise the need for early engagement between relevant plan-making authorities, utility providers, regulators, and network operators. This will ensure that development plans align with the capacity and future requirements of water infrastructure, and support the delivery of water supply, drainage, and wastewater infrastructure.

The consultation will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here.

In addition, the Department for Environment, Food and Agriculture has established a Water Delivery Taskforce to hold water companies to account on the deliveryof their Price Review (PR24) plans, including in relation to their planned investments to provide water and wastewater capacity.