Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many licenses or permits to abstract water from chalk streams were given to each water company in each year since 2015.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Environment Agency records indicate that a total of 2 new water company licences have been issued in chalk catchments, which are both transfer licences (non-consumptive use of water) since 2015 and 16 existing time limited licences have been renewed since 2015. The table attached provides the breakdown for the relevant water companies. New licences will only be issued if there is water available to be abstracted and may be issued with conditions to prevent or limit abstraction during periods of low flow. All new licences and renewal of time limited licences will have been assessed against environmental sustainability and justification of need criteria.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of fresh water depletion from England’s aquifers (a) in 2022 and (b) the last ten years.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) undertakes an assessment of groundwater resources as part of the six year cycle of River Basin Management Planning process. Groundwater bodies need to meet the four quantitative tests that aim to protect surface water flows, groundwater levels, spring discharges and water quality. The assessment also includes a groundwater balance with consideration to amount of recharge, how much is needed to support rivers and the impact from groundwater abstraction. The EA has been assessing groundwater bodies in this way since 2009 and the last reported assessment was carried out in 2019.
Assessment shows groundwater abstraction in 73% of groundwater bodies is sustainable and there is enough water to protect the environment, providing good support to fish and other aquatic life.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the implication for his polices of Thames Water’s proposal to convey millions of litres of treated wastewater into the River Thames at Teddington Weir, including (a) potential health implications, (b) impact on biodiversity and (c) safeguards to protect water quality.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) has reviewed work undertaken by Thames Water to understand the risks and mitigation required for a Teddington Direct River Abstraction (DRA) scheme through the Regulators’ Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development (RAPID) gated process to ensure it meets stringent environmental standards. The EA is currently reviewing any proposals for new water resources options through the statutory Water Resources Management Plan consultation and more detailed assessment of Teddington DRA through the RAPID gated process.
Asked by: John Redwood (Conservative - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help refill reservoirs from river abstraction, in the context of increases in rainfall and river water flow.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Water companies are taking action to improve public water supplies, especially refilling reservoirs. They are using drought permits to allow them to take water from rivers, including new sources, or to modify or suspend conditions in their existing abstraction licences. When the Environment Agency (EA) determine a drought permit application they will ensure there are mitigating conditions in place to protect the environment. The EA is encouraging water companies to submit drought permit applications early to help improve supplies over winter in preparation for next spring and summer. The EA has granted 18 drought permits for South West Water, Thames Water, Severn Trent Water and South East Water. Defra has also determined a drought order for Yorkshire Water. The EA is determining further permit applications for Southwest Water, Yorkshire Water and Thames Water.
We are also helping the agriculture sector refill their reservoirs over the winter. The EA is monitoring and forecasting flows to advise the farming sector when they can abstract in line with their licence conditions, which protect the environment and other water users. October rainfall was typically above average meaning that many farmers could start refilling their reservoirs and we are encouraging them to maximise all opportunities to do this, given November is forecast to be dry in many parts of the country.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had, if any, with the Environment Agency about increasing the number of on-farm reservoirs; and whether they will make their advice public.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Farming Transformation Fund (FTF), part of the overall Farming Investment Fund, provides grants towards large capital items such as on-farm reservoirs for water management to help agriculture businesses improve productivity, profitability, and environmental sustainability. The Environment Agency (EA) continues to support the Rural Payments Agency (RPA), who administer this fund by determining the abstraction licences associated with these applications.
In response to customer feedback, the RPA extended the full application submission deadline for the Farming Transformation Fund water management applications from 30 June until 30 September 2022. It also extended the deadline for the submission of planning permission and abstraction licences from 31 December 2022 to 31 March 2023.
The RPA has also sent out a second tranche of projects to submit FTF water management full applications. The deadline to submit a full application is 30 November 2022. The deadline for the submission of planning permission and abstraction licences, where they are required for a project, is 31 May 2023.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what help they are giving to ensure that farmers can access the water they need this winter to give them confidence to plant next year’s crops.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Through Defra and the Environment Agency (EA) we are working closely with agricultural sector groups, including the National Farmers Union (NFU), to support farmers to fill farm storage reservoirs this autumn and winter. The EA has a package of measures in place to support farmers through Local Enforcement Positions to allow abstraction beyond their licence conditions. These include taking high flows, when available, to start early refill of storage reservoirs; working with water companies to share their supplies to help farmers; prioritising abstraction licence applications associated with storage reservoir grant applications; encouraging farmers to review water needs and vary licences now to improve their resilience for next year.
Agricultural representatives, including the NFU, are members of National Drought Group (NDG), which is regularly meeting and has contributed to understanding the risks for agricultural production and has agreed actions to reduce the impacts. The NDG met on 14th October 2022 to discuss the prospects for winter recharge, potential for drought conditions in 2023 and actions to help different sectors, including agriculture. My colleague, Trudy Harrison attended the meeting, highlighting the importance of this issue to HM Government. The next meeting will be on 28 November 2022.
Asked by: Selaine Saxby (Conservative - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recent extreme weather; and whether his Department is taking steps to provide advice to the horticulture industry on urban (a) greening and (b) cooling.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
We have extensive plans in place and underway to adapt to and mitigate the risks of a warming climate. This includes our work being delivered through our landmark Environment Act to protect and increase biodiversity, protect and restore our peatlands, wetlands and natural environment, and improve air quality. We are working closely with responsible departments to ensure they are addressing the risks posed by extreme weather and will respond to the Climate Change Committee's assessment of climate risks in our next National Adaptation Programme, due to be published in 2023.
We have engaged with a number of initiatives to better understand and respond to the effects of climate change on food production. We provide advice to farmers via the Farming Advisory Service, which includes advice for water abstraction and consumption in the drier extremes of the year which are likely to become more common.
Our climate risk assessments and adaptation policies are underpinned by research from the Met Office Hadley Centre for Climate Science and Services. This includes efforts to better align our crop breeding work with pressures identified in climate projections.
Whilst no specific assessment of Government policy or its implication for the horticulture industry has been made at this time, we are aware that the recent extreme weather has had an impact on the industry, effecting yield, growth and quality of crops, and that this continues to be of concern to growers in many parts of the country. We are fortunate in this country to have a highly resilient food supply chain and are able to meet much of our domestic needs supplementing this supply with imports from overseas to meet consumer demand. Any disruption from risks such as adverse weather is unlikely to affect the overall security of the UK’s supply chain. We will continue to keep the situation and any impact on the domestic sector under close review and have increased engagement with the industry to supplement HM Government analysis with real-time intelligence.
We recognise the contribution urban greening can make to climate adaptation. New guidance is being developed by Natural England as part of the Green Infrastructure Framework on how to deliver cooling and other benefits.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to ensure farmers will have access to the water they need to produce adequate fruit and vegetable yields in 2023.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra and the Environment Agency are working closely with agricultural sector groups, including the National Farmers Union, on planning for different water availability scenarios for 2023.
The Environment Agency has a package of measures in place to support farmers through Local Enforcement Positions to allow abstraction beyond their licence conditions. These include taking high flows when available to start early refill of storage reservoirs; working with water companies to share their supplies to help farmers; prioritising abstraction licence applications associated with storage reservoir grant applications; encouraging farmers to review water needs and vary licences now to improve their resilience for next year.
Agricultural representatives, including National Farmers Union, are members of National Drought Group (NDG) and have contributed to the risks to agricultural production. The NDG met on 14 October 2022 to discuss the prospects for winter recharge and the potential for drought conditions in 2023. The next meeting of NDG will be on 28 November 2022.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of levels of water storage in on-farm reservoirs.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The National Drought Group meeting on 14 October highlighted the prospect of low winter refill to on-farm storage reservoirs with below average rainfall.
Sufficient winter rainfall is needed to ensure river flows enable abstractors to refill farm reservoirs. Farmers should plan around the risks to winter storage reservoir refill.
The Environment Agency has licensed approximately 1900 abstractions relating to agricultural storage reservoirs. Above average winter rainfall is required in many catchments to refill depleted winter storage reservoirs. Below average rainfall over the autumn and winter would reduce the likelihood of winter storage reservoirs refilling fully due to the current low river levels which is limiting abstraction for refill, especially in parts of east and south-east England.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will instruct the Environment Agency to prioritise water for food production when assessing winter abstraction applications.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Environment Agency (EA) allocates water to abstractors through an abstraction licensing system to secure the proper and efficient use of water resources while having regard to the reasonable needs of all applicants. The EA abstraction licensing system does not favour one use of water over another.
The EA is proactively working with the agricultural sector to provide additional access to water where needed, including by considering applications to abstract outside of normal licence conditions.
Defra and the EA work closely with agricultural sector groups, including the National Farmers Union, on Farming Transformation Fund grants to be awarded for construction of new reservoirs.