Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will include in the National Planning Policy Framework requirements for local authorities to make an assessment of the potential impact of proposed housing developments on the sustainability of local (a) water services and (b) sewerage systems.

Water companies are under a statutory duty to provide new water and sewage connections to residential properties, as well as planning to meet the needs of growth as part of Water Resource Management Plans and Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans.

The way that water resources are planned for is being considered as part of a commission reviewing the Water Sector Regulatory System, as recently announced by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.