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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure water resilience is considered when building new housing.

Water companies are statutory consultees on local authority local plans. We have set out in our guidance for water resource management plans and our drainage and wastewater management plans that we expect early discussions between local authorities and water companies to help ensure that proposed growth and environmental objectives are reflected in the company plans and can be delivered.  It is a duty on water companies to maintain, improve and extend their water supply networks to take account of future water needs, such as those for new homes. Defra continues to work with the Department for Levelling Up Communities and Housing to ensure water supply remains resilient where new housing is being planned, including a new Water Scarcity Working Group with regulators and the recent announcement of £3 million of funding for offsetting of water demand in Cambridge.