Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of projected water supply and demand balances in the East of England to 2050; what estimate she has made of a projected water deficit under Water Resources East planning assumptions; and whether her Department has plans to address a deficit through new reservoirs, water transfers, demand management and regulatory reform.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The current Water Resources East plan sets out a series of water company measures, including demand management and leakage reduction interventions, new strategic reservoirs in Lincolnshire and the Fens, coastal desalination in Norfolk and Lincolnshire, and water recycling plants, in Suffolk and Essex.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential benefits of a unified, real-time water-level monitoring platform for the Fenland basin to support coordination between the Environment Agency, Internal Drainage Boards and water companies.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency routinely shares hydrological information with Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) and water companies, with further live and historic data available via the online Hydrology Data Explorer. Regular liaison over periods of dry weather enables proactive data sharing and shared decision making about water level management.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate has been made of the number of additional members of the UK Active Reserve across each service that will be recruited as a result of the Defence Investment Plan.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Defence Investment Plan has set out how we will be investing over ÂŁ76 billion on people and veterans over the next four years. The ÂŁ4.2 billion of funding for the Reserves represents the cost of Reserves pay and allowances.
The MOD does not routinely publish detailed breakdowns of spending for reasons of national security. In addition, individual annual settlements will be subject to planning cycles across the services.
This Government is committed to modernising the Reserve component. The Defence Investment Plan reaffirms the importance of the Reserve Forces to Defence’s future outputs. Work is underway to develop future Reserve structures, improve recruitment and retention, and ensure Reservists are aligned to the demands of modern warfighting and homeland resilience.