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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the speech by the Chief Executive of the Environment Agency Escaping the jaws of death: ensuring water in 2050, made on 19 March; what steps they are taking to encourage individuals to reduce their water consumption; and what plans they have to introduce compulsory water metering.

Sir James Bevan’s speech highlighted the need to take action to improve water demand management and increase supply to prevent future water supply deficits. That is why the Government is continuing to work closely with water regulators and the water industry to improve the resilience of water supplies now and in the long term.

The Government expects companies to increase metering where appropriate. Currently, water companies can introduce universal metering if they are in an area designated as an area of serious water stress and have consulted on doing so with their customers.

We are launching a call for evidence on setting an ambitious target for personal water consumption by mid-May. Alongside this, we will hold a consultation to examine the policy options required to support the target. This will include exploratory questions around policy options such as the labelling of water-using products, improving building standards, and the future role of metering.