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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to review the drainage system to ensure it is sufficiently resilient to manage extreme weather events and prevent flooding.

Sewerage companies are responsible for the maintenance and resilience of the drainage and wastewater networks. The first cycle of non-statutory planning, through Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans (DWMPs), are currently ongoing. DWMPs will become statutory through the Environment Act when the first cycle ends.

This planning process will help sewerage companies to fully assess wastewater network capacity and develop collaborative solutions with local authorities and other bodies who are responsible for parts of the drainage system.