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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help increase sewage capacity for new build homes.

Ofwat published their final determinations for Price Review 2024 on 19 December, setting company expenditure and customer bills for 2025-2030. The £104 billion funding package is the highest level of investment in the water sector since privatisation and is set to be the second largest private sector investment programme in this parliament. This planned investment will support new home building.

Under the Environment Act 2021, a new duty has been created for water companies in England to produce Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans. These explain how a water company intends to improve its drainage and wastewater systems over the next 25 years, accounting for factors including growing population and changing environmental circumstances.