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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential barriers faced by farmers in Buckinghamshire seeking to invest in on-farm water storage in order to improve resilience to drought and flooding.

Defra has assessed barriers to investment in on-farm water storage across England, including Buckinghamshire. These include high project costs, complex and uncertain planning and approvals, and uncertainty over whether sufficient water will be available to fill reservoirs.

The Government is taking action. The package announced by the Prime Minister in August included up to £15 million for on-farm reservoirs, alongside work to reduce unnecessary barriers and update planning guidance. We are working with the farming sector to strengthen on-farm water resilience and ensure appropriate planning and abstraction licensing arrangements are in place, while supporting investment and management of water resources.