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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in consulting on the National Policy Statement for Water Resources; and when the outcome of that consultation will be published.

I announced that a national policy statement for water resources would be developed in a written ministerial statement in March 2017 (HLWS532). In November 2017, the government consulted on the approach to developing the statement and proposals to amend the definitions of nationally significant infrastructure projects for water in the Planning Act 2008. The summary of responses and government response was published in March. The government undertook a further informal consultation on amendments to the definitions in April. The government will set out the final thresholds and infrastructure types for the proposed amendment to the Planning Act 2008 in the summer. The government will consult on the draft national policy statement this autumn.