Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the level of funding that will be required to reduce leakage rates to target levels in Buckinghamshire.

We expect Ofwat, as the independent economic regulator, to consider the funding required to enable companies to contribute to national leakage reduction targets as part of its Price Review process.

Water companies have committed to reducing leakage, on a national level, by 50% from 2017-2018 levels by 2050, including a 30% reduction interim target by 2032. Defra is supporting the Ofwat led Smart Meter Delivery Board to enable, the identification and fixture of leaks through, the rollout of 10.4 million water smart meters this Price Review.