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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has had discussions with (a) Ofwat and (b) water companies on civil contingency planning for drought since January 2022; and if he will publish the minutes of those meetings.

The National Drought Group, made up of senior decision-makers from HM Government, the Environment Agency, Ofwat, water companies and key representative groups is meeting regularly to agree the actions required to manage the current impacts of the drought and reduce the risks into next year. The EA publishes a summary of the NDG discussions and actions which is available here.

Defra is the Lead Government Department for drought contingency planning with further details available here.