Drought Conditions: England

Olivia Blake Excerpts

Friday 16th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Olivia Blake (Sheffield Hallam) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for her statement. Despite what the shadow Minister said, this situation is unprecedented: the first time a severe drought has ever been declared in the UK. This is incredibly shocking for what has historically and famously been our wet island. Drought has just been declared in Yorkshire. Consumers in my constituency often raise the issue of leaks with me. How can we ensure that water companies address leaks before asking consumers to reduce their usage?

[Emma Hardy]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. That was another challenge that we faced when coming into office, but companies are now fixing more leaks than ever before. They are also increasing the number of engineers who can fix those leaks. During this review, £720 million is going into smart technology, including the use of metering.

One of the many reasons why metering is so important is that it helps customers to identify leaks; sometimes, they have not been aware of them. We are absolutely holding the companies to account, through the weekly national drought group meetings, to make sure that fixing leaks remains one of their priorities. It is one of the cheapest ways of ensuring that there is more water in the system.