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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of water abstraction licences on water availability in Yorkshire; and what process is available to amend or restrict such licences when Yorkshire moves into drought status.

On abstraction licensing strategies, I refer the Hon Member to the information available on GOV.UK. Abstraction licences can be restricted during drought, allowing us to better protect the environment and public water supplies quickly and improve access to water when flows recover.