Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) grants and (b) other provisions are available to support householders in replacing domestic lead water pipes beyond the stopcock; and what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of support for householders to replace those pipes.

As with other parts of a home, pipes on the customer’s property are the customer’s/homeowner’s responsibility. However, we are aware there can be problems relating to lead content and leakage issues in these supply pipes. Some water companies provide help to customers to replace these pipes, but this is not consistent.

Defra is gathering evidence on policies to reduce lead exposure. The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) has published a review of the currently available evidence on lead in drinking water and the possible long-term strategies to reduce exposure, which is available on the DWI’s website. Ofwat recently approved two trial projects to replace customer supply pipes made of lead by South West Water and Severn Trent.

With regard to leakage, a response to the 2019 ‘Water conservation: measures to reduce personal water use’ consultation, is expected to be published this spring. Measures to address leakage were considered as part of this consultation, and protecting our water resources is a priority for this Government. The consultation response will more clearly set out our intentions with regard to reducing leakage on customer supply pipes.