Found: Ministry of Justice that administers legal aid under LASPO 2012, s.4(2). 16 Jo Wilding, (2019), ‘Droughts

Found: There are legal advice ‘deserts’ (areas where there are no legal aid providers) and ‘droughts’ (areas

Found: But in other situations it may be due to a serious series of droughts or heavy flooding—both of which

Found: But in other situations it may be due to a serious series of droughts or heavy flooding—both of which

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect of the prolonged heatwave and drought on eastern and southern Africa, in particular on children, and what steps they are taking in response.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We closely monitor climatic conditions in Africa - including recent drought conditions in parts of Eastern and Southern Africa, where over 80 million people are experiencing crisis levels of food insecurity. In 2023 the UK was the 4th largest bilateral donor to humanitarian appeals in sub-Saharan Africa. Our programmes in the region are directly tackling food insecurity and poor access to safe water, in order to improve the nutritional and health status of children. The UK is also raising the profile of humanitarian needs with our international partners, maintaining a focus on the need for long-term solutions to climate related crises in the region, including drought.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports from UNICEF that the 2023–24 El Niño phenomenon has led to the closure of schools in South Sudan.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The El Niño phenomenon exacerbates regional climate patterns and extreme weather events. Last month, excessive heat caused the temporary closure of some schools in South Sudan. The UK is one of the largest donors to education in South Sudan: we engage closely with the government, UNICEF, and education partners and will monitor the impact of interruptions to education. Our Humanitarian Assistance and Resilience in South Sudan programme has assisted approximately three million people by providing critical life-saving support and helping people to better cope with shocks from conflict, drought and flooding.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports from UNICEF that the 2023–24 El Niño phenomenon has led to the president of Malawi declaring a state of disaster in 23 out of the 28 districts in the country.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We share UNICEF's assessment that the El Nino phenomenon has contributed to failed rains across Southern Africa, resulting in serious drought in both Zambia and Malawi, which in turn will have a serious impact on children and the most vulnerable. We welcome the swift actions of Presidents Hichilema (Zambia) and Chakwera (Malawi) in declaring a state of national disaster and emergency across Zambia and within 23 out of 28 districts in Malawi.

In Zambia, the UK is committing to the rapid expansion of the Social Cash Transfer scheme to reduce food insecurity for an additional 6 million people and pivoting our existing nutrition programmes to expand access to treatment. We deployed a UK Humanitarian Stabilisation Operations Team to support the Government of Zambia's drought response coordination. In Malawi, the UK has contributed to the Government's investment into disaster risk financing instruments which will provide an immediate response when triggered. The Malawian Government is currently preparing its own El Nino Response Plan which will outline further international assistance requirements. The UK will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports from UNICEF that the 2023–24 El Niño phenomenon has led to the declaration of a national emergency in Zambia.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We share UNICEF's assessment that the El Nino phenomenon has contributed to failed rains across Southern Africa, resulting in serious drought in both Zambia and Malawi, which in turn will have a serious impact on children and the most vulnerable. We welcome the swift actions of Presidents Hichilema (Zambia) and Chakwera (Malawi) in declaring a state of national disaster and emergency across Zambia and within 23 out of 28 districts in Malawi.

In Zambia, the UK is committing to the rapid expansion of the Social Cash Transfer scheme to reduce food insecurity for an additional 6 million people and pivoting our existing nutrition programmes to expand access to treatment. We deployed a UK Humanitarian Stabilisation Operations Team to support the Government of Zambia's drought response coordination. In Malawi, the UK has contributed to the Government's investment into disaster risk financing instruments which will provide an immediate response when triggered. The Malawian Government is currently preparing its own El Nino Response Plan which will outline further international assistance requirements. The UK will continue to monitor the situation closely.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to tackle the risk of (a) drought and (b) water scarcity.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

(a) Defra published its Plan for Water 2023 which set out the importance of ensuring a clean and plentiful water supply in England. The Plan sets out our commitment to a twin track approach to improving water supply resilience, with action to reduce water company leaks and improve water efficiency, alongside investing in new supply infrastructure.

Last year, regional water resources groups and water companies consulted on their draft water resources plans. These statutory plans set out how each company will secure water supplies sustainably for at least the next 25 years and how drought resilience will be improved. The plans contain proposals for multiple new water resources schemes, including new reservoirs. Water companies also maintain statutory drought plans, which show the actions taken to maintain secure supplies during droughts.

(b) To address water scarcity, the Government has set a new legally binding target under the Environment Act 2021 to reduce the use of our public water supply in England by 20% per person by 2038.  To achieve this, we will reduce household water use to 122 litres per person per day, reduce leakage by 37%, and reduce non-household (for example, businesses) water use by 9% by 31 March 2038. This is part of the trajectory to achieving 110 litres per person per day household water use, a 50% reduction in leakage and a 15% reduction in non-household water use by 2050. Our Plan for Water and Environmental Improvement Plan have set out our roadmap to water efficiency in new developments and retrofits, to be delivered over the next decade. This includes developing clear guidance on ‘water positive’ or ‘net zero water’ developments and roles for developers and water companies, including water company incentives. We are also working closely with water companies to increase the supply of water.

In December 2023, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities issued a Written Ministerial Statement which set out that in areas of serious water stress, where water scarcity is inhibiting the adoption of Local Plans or the granting of planning permission for homes, we are encouraging local planning authorities to work with the Environment Agency and delivery partners to agree standards tighter than the 110 litres per day set out in current guidance. Defra will also be reviewing building regulations in spring 2024 to allow local planning authorities to introduce tighter water efficiency standards in new homes. Defra is also reviewing the evidence base for water reuse systems with a view to consulting on changes to the water supply regulations to enable greywater reuse and rainwater harvesting to be managed by water companies.

At Spring Budget 2024, the Government published a policy paper setting out its ambition to address water scarcity in Greater Cambridge and measures to achieve this. It builds on significant interventions and investment of nearly £9 million - including £5.8 million of new funding - announced last July and at Autumn Statement 2023.

Found: increased inland flooding, vulnerability of the power system to climate -related risks, more frequent droughts

Found: Droughts in the Sahel and Horn of Africa contribute to the rise of the number of hungry on the continent

Found: keeping and fish farming, enabling us to lessen our dependency on seasonal crops that are affected by droughts

Found: either event -driven (acute) such as increased severity of extreme weather events (e.g., cyclones, droughts

Found: The new resilience standard for severe droughts, updated climate change projections and increased demand

Found: rainfall will significantly reduce over the summer months (34%) and we can expect greater incidence of droughts

Found: Floods and droughts 131 5.6.4. Water uses 132 5.6.5. Water quality 135 5.6.6.

Found: in the future. 12Earth System Impacts • Floods • Wildfires • Habitat loss • Extinctions • Storms • Droughts

Found: lightning, wildfires etc) and Chronic (i.e., longer-term effects including heat stress, precipitation, droughts

Found: Both droughts and high flows are natural disturbances in river systems that influence community structure

Found: The new resilience standard for severe droughts, updated climate change projections and increased demand

Found: rainfall will significantly reduce over the summer months (34%) and we can expect greater incidence of droughts

Found: inviting us to comment on a draft leaflet giving advice to people about staying healthy and safe in droughts

Found: focus is on commun ities most at risk of the consequences of a changing climate including increased droughts