Water Companies Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Lord Redwood
Main Page: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Redwood's debates with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
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Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
As the noble Baroness knows, Defra is very keen to be able to implement SUDS. We know that it makes a huge difference. We know that we need to use sustainable drainage to tackle flooding, particularly given the size of the building programme and the Government’s ambitions in housing, for example. I can only assure the noble Baroness that we will continue to press the department on this.
Lord Redwood (Con)
We do need more capacity for reservoirs and water storage. Where have the Government and the regulator got to in granting the permits so that work can get under way to make that much-needed provision?
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
The Government are very keen to press forward with new reservoirs. It is unfortunate that no new reservoirs have been built in almost 40 years. There are a number of reasons for that, and it is one of the reasons why we brought in the Planning and Infrastructure Act: to allow major projects—nationally significant infrastructure projects—to be able to move forward more quickly. We are currently working through that process.