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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many licenses or permits to abstract water from chalk streams were given to each water company in each year since 2015.

Environment Agency records indicate that a total of 2 new water company licences have been issued in chalk catchments, which are both transfer licences (non-consumptive use of water) since 2015 and 16 existing time limited licences have been renewed since 2015. The table attached provides the breakdown for the relevant water companies. New licences will only be issued if there is water available to be abstracted and may be issued with conditions to prevent or limit abstraction during periods of low flow. All new licences and renewal of time limited licences will have been assessed against environmental sustainability and justification of need criteria.