South East Water: Disruption of Supply

Earl of Effingham Excerpts

Monday 8th June 2026 Lords Chamber

It is vital that South East Water and all water companies deliver on improvements to their infrastructure, but most of all, they must continue to improve their ability to maintain water supplies to their customers, whatever the weather”.

[The Earl of Effingham (Con)]

My Lords, climate experts are predicting that a super El Niño this autumn could lead to 2027 being the hottest year on record. We know this today, so what exactly are the Government doing now to prepare the country in advance and avoid the disruption to water supplies as seen last spring? There can be no excuses next year that the Government did not know it was coming.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Baroness Hayman of Ullock) (Lab)]

The Government established the Water Delivery Taskforce last spring to ensure that we have sufficient water supplies and wastewater capacity to support the Government’s ambitions and the country as a whole. Having sufficient water supply is absolutely critical for the country, and is something that we are taking very seriously. I am sure the noble Earl will be interested in looking at how the proposals in the water Bill, which is coming later this year, will also help to support the long-term security of our water industry.