Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of placing the Regulators’ Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development on a statutory footing with powers to coordinate delivery of major water infrastructure projects across company boundaries.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have committed to ensuring that the Regulators’ Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development (RAPID) continues to coordinate and assure major infrastructure delivery, supporting faster delivery and avoiding duplication before being incorporated into the new regulator.
We also support RAPID’s consultation on expanding its remit to include wastewater and other strategic projects. This aims to strengthen regulatory coordination, accelerate delivery, and enhance infrastructure resilience across regions.
Defra is also supporting the delivery of water infrastructure through the Water Delivery Taskforce, chaired by Minister Hardy to ensure that water companies deliver the infrastructure required to support economic growth and long-term resilience.
Additionally, Defra has established the Senior Sponsorship Group which brings together senior decision-makers, the Environment Agency, Natural England, Ofwat, the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA), and water companies to identify and resolve barriers to major water infrastructure projects.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to introduce mandatory water efficiency requirements for (a) data centres and (b) other large non-household users.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In February, Government committed to looking at ways to help drive the uptake of water reuse and rainwater management for large non-household water users including data centres within the Water White Paper. Non-household businesses are encouraged to enquire about water efficiency audits through their water retailer to suggest and implement areas for improvement, including fixing leaks across the property.
The Government encourages developers to consider use of non-potable water, to embed water efficiency or water recycling and reuse in their design and contact their proposed water and wastewater supplier early in the planning process to understand and plan for any potential water restrictions.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to (a) designate and (b) deliver a national water transfer network to enable the movement of water between regions.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Government is committed to a twin track approach to improving water resilience. This involves urgent action to improve water efficiency and reduce water company leaks, alongside investing in new supply infrastructure, including new reservoirs and water transfers. £104 billion of private sector investment has been secured for the 2025-2030 period. This will fund essential infrastructure. For water supplies, this will progress delivery of nine new reservoirs and large-scale water transfer schemes by 2050.
Water companies have a statutory duty to provide a secure supply of water for customers. When preparing their Water Resources Management Plans, they must consider all options, including demand management and new water resources infrastructure, including reservoirs and transfers.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her policy is on Ofwat considering (a) measures to reduce reliance on single sources of water supply and (b) long-term asset health and resilience in future price determinations.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to increasing our water supply while protecting the environment and public health. We are taking a twin track approach to improving water supply resilience. This involves urgent action to reduce water company leaks and use drinking water and rainwater more efficiently, alongside new supply infrastructure, including new reservoirs and water transfers.
In the Water White Paper, the government set out our commitment to developing statutory resilience standards, which will be brought forward through the Clean Water Bill announced in the King’s Speech. These standards will ensure companies secure the long-term resilience of their water supply and sewerage systems.
Alongside the development of forward-looking asset health metrics to ensure critical infrastructure gets the funding that it needs, these standards will safeguard customer services in the context of a changing climate as well as population growth and other pressures.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the impact of (a) current demand reduction assumptions in water resource planning and (b) the proportion of projected savings by 2050 not tied to specific (i) policies and (ii) delivery mechanisms on delivery risk.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency’s National Framework for Water Resources estimates a shortfall of nearly 5 billion litres of water per day by 2050 between available supply and expected demand. Government has a statutory target to reduce water use in England per head by 20% by 2038, and is committed to a twin track approach to improving water resilience. This involves urgent action to improve water efficiency and reduce water company leaks, alongside investing in new supply infrastructure, including new reservoirs and water transfers.
Water companies have a statutory duty to provide a secure supply of water for customers, efficiently and economically and to set out how they plan to continue to supply water to their customers for the next 25 years through statutory Water Resources Management Plans (WRMPs). Defra works with regulators to closely monitor WRMP delivery through annual reviews.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of a statutory National Water Security Strategy on meeting projected water demand by 2050.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency’s National Framework for Water Resources estimates a shortfall of nearly 5 billion litres of water per day by 2050 between available supply and expected demand. Government has a statutory target to reduce water use in England per head by 20% by 2038, and is committed to a twin track approach to improving water resilience. This involves urgent action to improve water efficiency and reduce water company leaks, alongside investing in new supply infrastructure, including new reservoirs and water transfers.
Water companies have a statutory duty to provide a secure supply of water for customers, efficiently and economically and to set out how they plan to continue to supply water to their customers for the next 25 years through statutory Water Resources Management Plans (WRMPs). Defra works with regulators to closely monitor WRMP delivery through annual reviews.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of current funding levels for the School Milk Subsidy Scheme.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As this is a devolved matter, this answer applies to England only. 48% of eligible schools in England participated in the School Milk Subsidy Scheme in the school year 2024 to 2025. The allocated funding is regularly reviewed to ensure it is sufficient to cover the subsidy likely to be provided to those choosing to access the scheme.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to work with industry to develop a roadmap for ending the routine culling of male chicks, as laid out in the Animal Welfare Strategy.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 21 January 2026 to the hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole, PQ UIN 105878.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether a consultation on ending the routine culling of male chicks through in-ovo sexing is under consideration.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 4 March 2026 to the hon. Member for York Central, PQ UIN 116174.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she plans to publish a formal consultation on how a transition to in-ovo sexing would be implemented.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 4 March 2026 to the hon. Member for York Central, PQ UIN 116174.