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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps Ofwat has taken to promote water efficiency in the non-household water retail marketplace.

In March 2020, Ofwat and the Environment Agency (EA) wrote an open letter to water retailers and wholesalers requesting that they work together to develop an action plan to help deliver greater water efficiency in the non-household sector. Ofwat and the EA have proactively engaged with industry to develop the action plan, which is due to be signed off shortly. The action plan aims to:

1. Provide greater clarity on expectations and ambition for business water efficiency;
2. Improve understanding of how business water is being used, where and how much;
3. Improve collaboration in water resource planning and in identifying and progressing options to meet future business and societal water needs;
4. Identify and address barriers to the delivery of business water efficiency; and
5. Deliver insights into business customer motivations to save water using them to inform water saving campaigns and initiatives.