Reservoirs and Water Supplies

Debate between Lord Forsyth of Drumlean and Lord Katz

Monday 9th November 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Katz (Lab)]

Defra and the Environment Agency are working rapidly to improve and accelerate determination times for abstraction permits. We have reduced the average wait and processing times in significant performance outliers, with permitting performance now at its highest level since 2018. The Environment Agency is also improving digital systems to reduce administrative burden and complexity. We are reviewing approaches to high-flow abstraction, trialling dynamic abstraction and making up to £15 million available for on-farm reservoirs, which help farmers capture and store water during wetter periods, alongside taking steps to remove planning barriers to reservoir construction.

[The Lord Speaker (Lord Forsyth of Drumlean)]

The noble Lord, Lord Campbell-Savours, is taking part remotely. I invite the noble Lord to speak.