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Flood and Water Management Bill

Yes, absolutely. The hon. Lady makes a good point. I can confirm that the water and sewerage companies will indeed be consulted. Their input will be critical. I will return to the points that she made in her opening remarks that I have not already addressed, because she made quite a few. To return to new clause 6, adoption does not need to confer ownership, as the new clause would seem to imply, but simply a responsibility for maintenance. The maintenance duty for adopted SUDS will ensure that they continue to provide effective drainage for the properties that they serve. The hon. Members for Vale of York and for Upminster have also tabled amendment 19, which would require the Minister to ensure that provisions are in place to guarantee that the cost of a new development's connection to a SUDS and a sewerage system are borne equally by the new households that benefit from the new connection. I presume it is intended that the Minister would make such provisions by regulation. If the intention of the amendment is that the Government should find a way of funding the long-term maintenance costs of SUDS, I can reassure the House, and I can reassure the hon. Lady, as I did in Committee, that we are actively considering the issue. As the hon. Members who moved the amendment know, in Committee I also undertook to formalise arrangements with the Local Government Association to keep under review the costs falling on local authorities. That includes SUDS and the wider range of burdens. I reported earlier in the debate that my officials and officers of the Local Government Association have been meeting to take forward this commitment, and that I have written to Councillor Gary Porter, the environment chair of the LGA, proposing formal terms of reference. The hon. Members for Vale of York and for Upminster also tabled new clause 8, which seeks to ensure that the relevant planning authority for all major new developments consults water companies and the Environment Agency. It further requires that these consultations are in accordance with planning policy statement 25, that they establish the impact of the proposed new development on the local drainage system, and that the consultations inform the planning process. We debated that thoroughly in Committee. As the House will be aware, the Environment Agency is already a statutory consultee in England for planning applications in flood risk areas, and for all applications for major developments. These arrangements are set out in the table in article 10 of the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995, as amended.