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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he had with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the potential merits of funding water efficiency measures prior to the announcement of £2 billion to support homeowners and landlords in making their homes more energy-efficient in 2020-21 in the Chancellor's Plan for Jobs.

In his Summer Economic Update, the Chancellor announced a £2 billion Green Home Grant scheme that will support homeowners and landlords in England to improve the energy efficiency of their properties, reducing energy bills and carbon emissions, and supporting a green economic recovery.

The funding will be spent on paying for accredited tradespeople to install a range of measures, for example insulation, to improve the energy performance of their homes. Further detail on measures will be announced in the coming days, before the full launch.

The Secretary of State for Defra has not had a specific conversation with the SoS for BEIS about funding water efficiency measures through the Green Home Grant scheme. The Government intends to publish its response to the Measures to reduce personal water consumption consultation before the end of 2020. This will set out the next steps for water efficiency in England.