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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with Essex and Suffolk Water on levels of investment in local water infrastructure.

Since taking office, the Secretary of State and I have met with representatives from all water and wastewater companies. Officials also regularly meet with water companies to discuss localised and regional issues.

On 11 July, Ofwat proposed allowing a spending package of £88bn by water companies between 2025 - 2030. This investment will deliver upgrades across England and Wales to improve local water infrastructure including: 1500 wastewater treatment works, improvements of thousands of storm overflows and investment in improving bathing waters.

For PR24, Essex and Suffolk Water are proposing to invest £1.5 billion in total in the region, notably £386 million on new water supplies and £17.5 million on leakage. This is the largest investment programme in the last 30 years, working to increase resilience and secure water supply for the future, reducing the impact on the environment.