Clause 3 - Licences to abstract water
Water Bill [Lords]
10:45 am
Mr Elliot Morley (Minister of State (Environment and Agri-Environment), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Scunthorpe, Labour)
I hope that there is not too much boring for water in the Committee—we have a long way to go and are only at the beginning.
There is already guidance to planning authorities about applications to take into account water resources. Hon. Members are probably aware that the Environment Agency is a statutory consultee in planning applications. Water companies have a responsibility to undertake forward planning for potential resource demand, and they are also part of the planning process. It would therefore be wrong to think, as the hon. Member for Salisbury seems to, that there is no consideration of planning applications and the expectation that water companies will provide water and sewerage. The system does not work like that and we would not expect it to.