UK Inquiry Tracker

Water supply and demand management

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry

Opened: 20 May 2020 Closed: 29 Sep 2020 Parliament page

DEFRA oversees a complex national water delivery landscape, of regulators and privately-owned water companies, in the face of the risk of impending water shortages in the UK. Ofwat is the economic regulator and the Environment Agency ensures there is enough water to meet demand and to maintain environmental standards. The … Read more DEFRA oversees a complex national water delivery landscape, of regulators and privately-owned water companies, in the face of the risk of impending water shortages in the UK. Ofwat is the economic regulator and the Environment Agency ensures there is enough water to meet demand and to maintain environmental standards. The network of private water companies overseen by DEFRA and Ofwat employ a range of different operating models and while some are performing well, some are performing badly. The Committee on Climate Change predicts that the demand for water in England will exceed supply by between 1.1 and 3.1 billion litres a day by the 2050s. Currently 3 billion litres - a huge 20% of total supply - are lost every day through leakage from pipes. The Department has faced criticism over its failure to highlight water reduction targets and poor public messaging around the need to reduce water use. The NAO’s report ‘Water supply and demand management’ examines DEFRA’s leadership of government and the water industry in efforts to secure a resilient water supply, in the face of these challenges of water lost to leakage, climate change, and population growth. The report finds that total water supply is set to decrease by 7% by 2045 as a result of climate change and the need to avoid environmental damage to ground and surface water sources. If water companies do nothing demand will exceed supply in 2034-35. It also finds that DEFRA has not been able to ensure water efficiency is a priority across government; despite a commitment in 2018, it has yet to set a per capita consumption target for water companies. The NAO concludes that water companies have ambitious plans to reduce leakage, but they rely on as yet unknown or untested solutions. On Monday 1 June 2020 the Committee will question officials from DEFRA, Ofwat and the Environment Agency on DEFRA’s leadership and its work across government and with the water industry to strengthen the resilience of water supply. If you have evidence on the crucial issues of the UK’s water supply management raised by the NAO report please submit them here by 23:59 Wednesday 27 May 2020 Show less

1 Report

2 Oral sessions

6 Letters

2 Events

Activity timeline 11 events

20 Apr
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence from Tamara Finkelstein, Permanent Secretary, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, re Public Accounts Committ…

15 Sep
2020

Correspondence

Correspondence from Committee to Tamara Finkelstein, Permanent Secretary, DEFRA on Water supply and demand management, dated 29 July 2020

14 Sep
2020

Correspondence

Correspondence from Ofwat relating to the Committee's report Water supply and demand management, dated 10 September 2020

14 Sep
2020

Correspondence

Correspondence from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs relating to the Committee's report Water supply and demand manag…

14 Sep
2020

Correspondence

Correspondence from the Environment Agency relating to the Committee's report Water supply and demand management, dated 10 September 2020

22 Jul
2020

Oral evidence

Oral evidence session

22 Jul
2020

Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Virtual meeting

Committee event

10 Jul
2020

Report published

Ninth Report: Water supply and demand management

10 Jun
2020

Correspondence

Correspondence from the Environment Agency following on from the Committee's evidence session on Water supply and demand management, dated …

1 Jun
2020

Oral evidence

Water supply and demand management

1 Jun
2020

Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Virtual meeting

Water supply and demand management

Oral evidence sessions 2 sessions

22 Jul 2020

View on parliament.uk

1 Jun 2020

View on parliament.uk

Water supply and demand management

Rachel Fletcher · Ofwat Sally Randall · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Sir James Bevan · Environment Agency Tamara Finkelstein · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Reports 1 report · click to expand

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
Ninth Report: Water supply and demand management	HC 378	10 Jul 2020	0	Overdue

Correspondence 6 letters

20 Apr 2021 Correspondence from Tamara Finkelstein, Permanent Secretary, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, re Public Accounts Committee Inquiry: Water Supply and Demand Management, dated 12 April 2021

Parliament page

15 Sep 2020 Correspondence from Committee to Tamara Finkelstein, Permanent Secretary, DEFRA on Water supply and demand management, dated 29 July 2020

Parliament page

14 Sep 2020 Correspondence from Ofwat relating to the Committee's report Water supply and demand management, dated 10 September 2020

Parliament page

14 Sep 2020 Correspondence from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs relating to the Committee's report Water supply and demand management, dated 10 September 2020

Parliament page

14 Sep 2020 Correspondence from the Environment Agency relating to the Committee's report Water supply and demand management, dated 10 September 2020

Parliament page

10 Jun 2020 Correspondence from the Environment Agency following on from the Committee's evidence session on Water supply and demand management, dated 5 June 2020

Parliament page