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 increase water security for Farmers in Devon during heatwaves.

The Government is taking forward a range of measures to strengthen agricultural water resilience to droughts and heatwaves.

Defra has recently announced that it is opening a round of Water Management Grants, with up to £15m available to help farmers build on-farm reservoirs to improve water security. In addition, Defra is making it easier to build reservoirs, by updating planning guidance.

Defra also reminded farmers that they can apply to the Environment Agency for temporary abstraction flexibility, known as Local Enforcement Positions, where environmental impacts can be appropriately managed.