Written question asked by Diane Abbott (Labour), in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 18 July 1996. It was answered by James Clappison (Conservative) on Thursday, 18 July 1996 on behalf of the Department of the Environment.

Dept of the Environment

Question: What steps he is taking to help farmers prepare for the possibility of drought.

Answer: Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to help farmers prepare for the possibility of drought.[36434] Mr. Clappison: The Environment Agency has a policy of seeking to minimise the impact of any restrictions which might be necessary on the direct abstraction of water for irrigation purposes. It will provide information in advance of possible restrictions. It is working to encourage farmers to determine the risks to the reliability of their supplies of potential restrictions, and to assess the costs and benefits of providing on-farm winter storage bearing in mind the substantial reductions in charges for winter abstraction which the agency makes.

Secondary information