(1 day, 10 hours ago)
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Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of drought statuses in England; and what policies they plan to implement, if any, to reduce the likelihood and impact of future droughts.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Baroness Hayman of Ullock) (Lab)
My Lords, over 80% of England is in drought, and that affects around 50 million people. Parts of the country have entered severe drought for the first time, due to depleted reservoirs following an extremely dry summer. This Government are committed to a twin-track approach to improving water resilience and have secured £104 billion of private investment to fund urgent action to improve water efficiency and reduce leakage, alongside new supply infrastructure, which includes nine new reservoirs.
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab)
My Lords, as my noble friend the Minister has stated, only last week a severe warning for drought was declared in parts of southern England. Given earlier warnings about the severity of the El Niño effect this winter, what discussions have been held with the National Drought Group about conserving and storing water supplies as part of that monetary allocation during periods of persistent rainfall over the wintertime, including the removal of barriers to the construction of farm reservoirs, which would help protect food security throughout the year?
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
The Government engage with water companies, the Environment Agency, the Met Office and key sectors through the National Drought Group, because we want to ensure proper co-ordinated action. The Met Office regularly updates on the potential impacts of El Niño, which helps to ensure that the group is prepared to respond. Of course, the impacts of El Niño are uncertain, but we are aware that it could contribute to continued dry conditions into autumn and winter, which could further reduce the opportunities to refill reservoirs.
Defra has announced a further £15 million of support to build on-farm reservoirs through the water management grant. To enable farmers to make better use of water during wetter periods, Defra is also taking steps towards a more dynamic abstraction licensing system. The Environment Agency has committed to reviewing its approach to abstraction and has introduced a regulatory position statement, which brings reservoir refill season forward from November to October.
Baroness Grender (LD)
My Lords, does the Minister agree that, with the severe droughts declared in parts of the south-west and south-east, and water companies still losing nearly 3 billion litres a day to leakage, the clean water Bill is needed now? Are the rumours true that it has been delayed again? Can she tell us when it will be introduced, given that she told us last month that she hoped to bring it shortly?
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
I assure the noble Baroness that we are actively working on the water Bill. It is an absolute priority, not just for the department but for the Prime Minister. We absolutely need to get it right. There is a lot of work going into it. A lot of changes are needed to the water industry if we are going to really make the difference that we want to make. In fact, I have only today had a meeting where I have discussed it, so it is something that we are actively working on.
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)
My Lords, may I commend to the Minister the report from the Environment and Climate Change Select Committee, on drought preparedness and the need to have environmental and economic assessments every year before the next drought? Obviously, I regret the situation in Yorkshire, where we have entered drought for the first time. This morning I was at a meeting of the Association of Drainage Authorities. It said that there is a crying need for small on-farm reservoirs but the barriers are still there. These are taxation barriers, permitted development and planning barriers, and others. Will she please use her best offices to make sure that these barriers are removed and that small on-farm reservoirs can proceed to be built?
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
The noble Baroness makes a very good point. One of the issues, not just of on-farm reservoirs but others around farming, is the planning system. We as a department have been working very closely with MHCLG to update planning guidance in order to strengthen support for agricultural infrastructure, whatever form that infrastructure takes. The National Planning Policy Framework, which was published in August, is looking to start to do this, and we are working with industry to look at further planning reforms that we could bring in that would help.
The Duke of Wellington (CB)
My Lords, the Minister referred to leakage. I believe it is still government policy to try to reduce leakage by 50% by 2050. In view of the severe drought conditions this year and generally, would it not be wise to have a more ambitious target?
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
I always like ambition—it is a very good thing—but we have to set targets that are attainable and achievable. As the noble Duke said, water companies have to halve leakage across the industry by 2050—that is compared with 2017-18 levels. We saw a 12% reduction in total leakage last year, and we want to continue that and move more quickly, so we have invested £720 million through the current Ofwat price review period in smart technology, including meters, to help identify and reduce leakage. I am sure that if we can move more quickly, we will be very happy to do so.
Lord Shamash (Lab)
My Lords, in view of the kind of climate that we are all now entering into, what thought have the Government given, perhaps in the water Bill, to the construction of desalination plants?
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
Obviously, desalination is an important part of moving forward when we have concerns around the amount of water that we have, and we are very keen to work more proactively in this space. One thing I am sure my noble friend is aware of is that water companies need to demonstrate that schemes will maintain secure water supplies. That includes the eight new desalination schemes that have been proposed in the current water resourcing management plan, so it is something we are keen to move forward with.
Lord Roborough (Con)
My Lords, I declare my interest as a farmer and landowner. Water company investment in nature-based solutions to drought resilience, as well as flood prevention and water quality, is disadvantaged against grey infrastructure due to the continued scepticism of the Environment Agency and the bureaucratic approach of other arm’s-length bodies. Re-wetting, decanalising, riparian planting and peatland restoration demonstrate strong results in short timeframes while delivering significant benefits to our rural economy and to nature restoration. Can the Minister assure us that the Government will remove this bias in the forthcoming clean water Bill and allow the acceleration of nature-based solutions?
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
Clearly, I am not in a position to tell noble Lords what will be in the Bill, but I can assure the noble Lord that nature-based solutions are a very important part of the Government’s work in managing the situation regarding climate change and drought. Providing more integrated sustainable solutions is where we make the difference—even things such as creating better soil quality can make a huge difference. The three main aims around nature-based solutions for water that we are looking at are better groundwater resources, improving low flows in rivers, and improving our resilience to drought. We need to look at the effective schemes that we can bring forward, and that does not have to be just through the water Bill.
Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (GP)
My Lords, Thames Water, which I am a customer of, will run out of money within the next few weeks. Eighteen months ago it was given £3 billion to keep going and now it is asking for a further £2.4 billion. Why on earth is Thames Water not in special administration already?
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
The simple answer to that is that the rules for special administration make it quite difficult for the Government to put Thames Water into special administration while it is still financing itself. I know the noble Baroness is saying that it is about to run out of money, but on paper and in its finances, it is continuing to operate as a company and to provide water. The question is: how long are the Government prepared to accept the current situation? That is something we are looking at.
Lord Spellar (Lab)
My Lords, I ask the Minister to reflect on the irony of the Liberal Democrats raising the issue of water shortages in the south-east and south-west, when their party was at the forefront of campaigning against new reservoirs—
Lord Spellar (Lab)
I thank my fan club—particularly at Didcot in the Thames Valley.
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
We had a Question on reservoirs last week, and I think I made the point then that I am going to make now, which is that people are desperate for reservoirs before they have been built, because they do not have enough water. As soon as you try to build a reservoir, all of a sudden people do not want it in their area. We have to come together as a country and sort this out.