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 has taken to help improve water company preparedness for extreme weather conditions in a) England and b) Romford constituency.

Water companies are Category Two Responders under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004) and legally required to cooperate and share information with Category One Responders. Water companies are also required under the Security and Emergency Measures Direction 2022 to plan for a wide range of disruptive scenarios, including extreme weather. Companies are also incentivised under Ofwat’s performance targets regime to minimise supply interruptions.

Defra engages frequently with water companies on resilience planning, including in advance of forecasted extreme weather. Water companies also engage with their Local Resilience Forums. This includes Thames Water, Essex and Suffolk Water and the London Resilience Forum.