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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the Government's policy is on preventing incidences of rivers drying up as a result of unsustainable water abstraction.

Since 2008 the Environment Agency has made changes to over 270 abstraction licences to prevent over 27 billion litres of water per year being removed from the environment. This is enough water to supply half a million people, with water for one year.

The government is updating its plan for managing abstraction and will publish in due course.