Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to require local authorities in England to obtain guarantees, backed up by financial penalties, from water and sewerage providers that a new housing development can be served before they can grant planning permission.

The Government is committed to ensuring there is adequate water and wastewater capacity to support growth.

It is the responsibility of water and wastewater service providers to plan for and deliver sufficient levels of infrastructure capacity to accommodate planned growth. The majority of water companies have now published their water resources management plans which set out how they will continue to provide secure water supplies in the long term.

The government has created a new duty for water companies in England to produce Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans, which set out how a water company intends to improve their drainage and wastewater systems over the next 25 years, to accommodate growth and mitigate issues related to insufficient capacity.

When granting planning permission, local authorities can seek a section 106 planning obligation from a developer to mitigate the impact of a development to make it acceptable in planning terms.  The obligation may, for example, require certain infrastructure or infrastructure contributions to be provided and specify the periods at which they must be provided. Local authorities have enforcement powers to ensure compliance with any such provisions.

I also refer the noble Lord to the answer given to Question UIN 26106 on 05 February 2025.