Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to commence schedule 3 of the Floods and Water Act 2010.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government remains firmly committed to delivering standardised sustainable drainage systems in new developments as stated in our Plan for Water (April 2023). A consultation will take place shortly and final implementation decisions will be made on scope, threshold and process.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to allow water customers to have a meter removed from their property.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has committed to a 20% reduction in water demand by 2038 and halving leakage by 2050. Metering is central to identifying and reducing leakage and enabling better value for money for the consumer. The Government set out that water companies in areas of ‘water stress’ can compulsorily meter, following evidence it provides value for money and has customer support in their resource planning. Where this is the case, a customer may not be able to switch back to unmeasured charges. Other water companies do offer the opportunity for customers to switch back to an unmeasured charge following meter installation. All water companies offer social tariffs as part of affordability packages for consumers who may be struggling to pay their water bills.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
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 is taking to ensure customers of Southern Water are able to install water efficiency measures in their meter chambers.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Southern Water is developing its next Water Resources Management Plan and its draft plan included the proposed to update water meters with smart meters across its customers by 2030 through an extensive replacement programme. The company plans to undertake 10,000 household water audits per year. The company is due to reconsult on its plan this summer. It will not be granted permission to finalise its plan until Defra are satisfied that it is appropriate, including assurance that the water efficiency programme is robust, sufficiently ambitious and enables customers to be efficient with the water they use.
Most water efficiency interventions by water companies are directed to water use within properties. Southern Water have not specified measures beyond smart metering that directly involve the meter chamber. Water meters are normally water company property and measures in the meter chamber would not usually be undertaken by customers.
Southern Water reported through its 2022/23 annual review that it had undertaken smart water meter trials in 1500 homes. The average water use across Southern Water households was 128 litres per person per day in 2022/23, in line with its forecasts and below the latest national average of 141. The Environment Agency and Defra track whether water companies are effectively reducing water consumption across household and business customers each year and escalate concerns where applicable.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) discussions and (b) correspondence his Department has had with (i) Lead Local Flood Authorities and (ii) the Local Government Association as part of his response of 13 March 2024 to the National Infrastructure Council report Reducing the risk of surface water flooding.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In considering the National Infrastructure Commission’s (NIC) study into surface water flooding, Defra officials met with the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport’s (ADEPT) Flood and Water Group. This group is predominately made up of lead local flood authorities and the Local Government Association. At the meeting there was a discussion about the NIC’s study and nine recommendations, and the different views on them. The ADEPT Flood and Water Group also wrote to Defra after the meeting. Defra took these views into account when producing the Government response and accepting or partially accepting all of the NIC’s recommendations.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2024 to Question 8811 on Land Drainage, what his expected timetable is for implementing Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010; and what (a) correspondence and (b) discussions he has had with local authorities on preparing for the implementation.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government remains firmly committed to delivering standardised sustainable drainage systems in new developments as stated in our Plan for Water (April 2023). A consultation will take place shortly and final implementation decisions will be made on scope, threshold and process.
Defra officials engage with local authority representatives on this issue on a regular basis. We would expect discussions to intensify during and following the upcoming public consultation.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Somerset Levels' resilience to flooding during the winter of 2023–24.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Catchments like the Brue on the Somerset Levels & Moors have seen record breaking conditions. Hundreds of properties have been flooded across Somerset and the Lead Local Flood Authority (Somerset Council) is planning to publish 11 Section 19 flooding reports.
Protecting some communities on the Somerset Levels and Moors from flooding is reliant on careful management of water levels, the storage and pumping of water from the moors, mobilisation of enhanced pumping capacity as well as targeted water injection dredging and the delivery of further flood/drought risk management interventions. Continued operation and maintenance of flood risk structures and equipment is essential to manage the risk. Future investment needs to factor in climatic change and help reach net zero.
Led by the Environment Agency, tens of millions are being invested in flood storage reservoirs to ensure they are safe and the Bridgwater tidal barrier will reduce tidal flood risk to 11,300 homes and 1,500 businesses. The detailed design is complete and enabling works are underway.
The natural geography of the Somerset Levels and Moors, in combination with climate change, indicates communities and businesses must remain prepared for flooding. The Somerset Rivers Authority Partnership, which has recently consulted on and published a new 10-year strategy, is helping Flood risk management authorities to work together so the Levels and Moors become a more climate resilient place.
The Government’s drive to tackle climate change, alongside exiting the EU is delivering an evolution of environmental, flood risk and farming policy. This change is presenting tangible economic and environmental opportunities for the communities living and working on the Levels and Moors in this pump drained landscape.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his expected timetable is for publishing his Department's roadmap on household water efficiency.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We published our ‘Roadmap on water efficiency in new developments and retrofits’ in the Environmental Improvement Plan in 2023. This sets out 10 actions to achieve our statutory target to reduce water demand by 20% by 2038. Within this we committed to implementing a Mandatory Water Efficiency label by 2025, to enable consumers to identify water efficient products. In October 2023, the Government publicly committed to a spring consultation to fulfil the roadmap action to Review the Building Regulations 2010, and the water efficiency, water recycling and drainage standards (regulation 36 and Part G2, H1, H2, H3 of Schedule 1), considering industry competence and skills.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Batley and Spen)
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 is taking with water companies to help tackle leaks.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Reducing losses through leakage is an important part of maintaining secure supplies of water for customers now and in the future. Government is committed to reducing leakage and has set a statutory water demand target to reduce water demand per person by 20% by 2038. This includes reducing leakage by 37% by 2038, on a trajectory to a 50% reduction in leakage by 2050. Ofwat set out a £51 billion five-year investment package in the Price Review 2019, including requirements for water companies to cut leaks by 16% and reduce mains bursts by 12% between 2020-2025. Ofwat will hold water companies to account for delivering leakage reduction targets, with financial penalties if they fail to meet them.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to support the development of electric propulsion systems.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK Space Agency (UKSA) is primarily supporting electric propulsion projects via our European Space Agency (ESA) membership, which has provided a total of approximately €90m funding to support development of UK electric propulsion systems to date. This includes €63m which supported UK companies to develop electric thrusters for flagship ESA missions, €6m through Horizon2020 to enable system development and upskill UK networks, and €9m to develop an independent UK end-to-end electric propulsion system. UKSA is also exploring nuclear electric propulsion for rapid interplanetary transit and novel water-based propellants for future off-world refuelling.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has produced guidance for operators of sewage processing plants on the use of covers in areas of high population density.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The operation of sewage processing plants is a matter for water companies who must comply with any permit conditions that have been set.