South East Water: Disruption of Supply

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Monday 8th June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

I do not know the detail of the proposals in Cornwall but, as I said, we need to get the balance right. It is really important. As I said in answer to the question from the noble Lord, Lord Deben, we have a problem with populations often being in the driest part of the country, so we need to get a proper overview of this.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, a lot of the regulation relating to water still comes from the European Union. Will the Government look at that in isolation or as part of the water Bill when it is before the House this autumn?

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

We need to look at it in the round. As the noble Baroness is aware, we are having a lot of discussions with the European Union at the moment, and it is important to learn from other countries and from what works in different places. Some countries are better at saving water than we are in this country, for example. I do not know the detail of where we will end up—negotiations are still ongoing—but we certainly need to take into account the way the European Union approaches water and the legislation that is likely to be with us.