Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what support his Department is providing to Zimbabwe to help with the drought in that country.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK commends the Government of Zimbabwe for identifying the potential impacts of the El Nino induced drought and are working with humanitarian agencies, the UN and donor nations and the Government of Zimbabwe to understand plans and options for international support if needed. Africa Risk Capacity, a UK-supported African Union-led disaster risk insurance mechanism, has confirmed that several pay outs will be triggered in Zimbabwe as a result of the declaration of a state of emergency. Additionally, the UK-funded START Network programme will shortly release funds for anticipatory actions to support the drought response.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
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.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an estimate of the number of people at risk of death from (a) hunger and (b) drought in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
During my recent visit to Ethiopia, I saw firsthand the seriousness of the humanitarian situation in Tigray. Across northern Ethiopia, including Tigray, El Nino is causing drought that is affecting 4 million people. According to assessments from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, nearly 1.4 million in Tigray will need immediate emergency food assistance because of drought.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring the Environment Agency to carry out an assessment of the potential impact on food production whenever there are changes to abstraction licences in the (a) agriculture and (b) horticulture sector.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency already has a duty to consider the costs and benefits of its actions. The Environment Agency applies this duty in abstraction licence and regulatory decisions. There is recognition of the impact a change in abstraction licence conditions can have on the agriculture and horticulture sectors. Where restrictions and licence changes are absolutely necessary the Environment Agency looks to work directly with licence holders to implement changes on a voluntary basis first. When managing droughts, the Environment Agency also looks to introduce partial restrictions (e.g. abstraction every other day, or night time only) and then total bans on water abstraction as a last resort. During the drought of 2022, the Environment Agency avoided the need for total irrigation bans by using this approach. However, the cost-benefit duty does not override the need for the Environment Agency to undertake its wider duties and functions to meet statutory environmental objectives.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to prevent drought (a) nationally and (b) in Yorkshire.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra recently published its Plan for Water setting out the importance of ensuring a clean and plentiful water supply. The National Framework for water resources sets out in detail how the Government, regulators and regional groups, including water companies, will work together to improve water resources management. This includes reducing demand, halving leakage, developing new water supplies and moving water to where it is needed.
Earlier this year, regional water resources groups and water companies including Yorkshire Water 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 develop drought plans, which outline the actions taken to maintain secure supplies during drought events. In their plans, water companies consider all options, including demand management and water resources infrastructure. The draft water resources management plans contain proposals for multiple new schemes by 2050, including nine new desalination schemes, nine new reservoirs, 11 new water recycling schemes, and several new internal and inter-company transfers to share resources, as well as the expansion of some existing reservoirs.
Water companies are also using the £469 million made available by Ofwat in the period 2020-2025, to develop strategic water resources options required to improve the resilience water supplies. In April 2023, Ofwat announced that water companies are bringing forward £2.2 billion for new water infrastructure, starting in the next two years, with £350 million worth of investment in water resilience schemes.
The Government also supports the agricultural sector with its Water Management Grant, under the Farming Transformation Fund, for the construction of new on-farm reservoirs and the adoption of best practice irrigation application equipment to help ensure farmers have access to water when they need it most. We aim to launch a third round of the grant next year in 2024.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department routinely undertakes assessments of the potential impacts of restrictions to water for the (a) agriculture and (b) horticulture sectors by water companies on the availability of food.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Restriction of water by water companies are primely targeted at households and reducing demand to help conserve supplies. Water companies will impose restrictions on a tiered approach, starting with a temporary use ban and if the drought continues then apply for a drought order to ban non-essential use of water (such as window cleaning). Neither will impact the availability of food production. Only in the most severe droughts, where water supplies are threatened, would this become an issue. To impose this level of restrictions would require an emergency drought order from the Secretary of State.
Farmers involved in food production will usually take water direct from the environment. This is regulated by the Environment Agency using its abstraction licensing regime. The NFU are part of the National Drought Group, who monitor droughts and work collaboratively to manage water.’
During periods of exceptional drought, the Environment Agency has the power to apply restrictions on spray irrigation users through S57 of the Water Resources Act 1991. This is done to protect the environment. The Agency needs to have “regard to costs and benefits in exercising powers” before implementing them as outlined in Section 39 of the Environment Act 1995.
Food is produced and grown across the country. The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain, as demonstrated throughout the Covid-19 response and is well equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption.
Our high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources; strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes. We produce 61% of all the food we need, and 74% of food which we can grow or rear in the UK for all or part of the year, and these figures have changed little over the last 20 years.
UK consumers have access through international trade to food products that cannot be produced here, or at least not on a year-round basis. This supplements domestic production, and also ensures that any disruption from risks such as adverse weather or disease does not affect the UK's overall security of supply.
We continue to keep weather situations and any impact on our agri-food sectors under close review, including through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group (UKAMMG). This was set up by Defra and the Devolved Administrations to monitor the UK market situation across all key agricultural commodities whilst also considering that the situation will vary by region, area, crop and soil type. We have also increased engagement with our valued industry colleagues to supplement Government analysis with real-time intelligence.