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 mitigate water demand from new housing developments in water-stressed regions.

The Department is taking forward a number of steps to mitigate water demand from new housing developments in water stressed regions.

Policy options on amendments to Water Efficiency Standards in Building Regulations have been tested through a public consultation which ran from September to December 2025. The Government response will set out how we will tighten water standards in new homes to protect water stressed regions.

Defra has established a Water Delivery Taskforce to ensure that water companies deliver on their planned investments to provide water and wastewater capacity for the development of new homes and businesses. The Taskforce has seen excellent work across departments to resolve blockers where water scarcity issues have stalled development. For example, in Cambridge, one of the most water-stressed regions of the UK the Taskforce is facilitating innovation through a series of testbed projects to help resolve local water supply challenges.