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Written question asked by Harriet Cross (Conservative) on Monday, 13 July 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 15 July 2026. It was answered by Emma Hardy (Labour) on Thursday, 16 July 2026 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Agriculture: Water Supply

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has undertaken an assessment of the resilience of agricultural water supplies during prolonged dry weather.

Answer

The Environment Agency (EA) and Defra are holding monthly National Drought Group meetings gathering intelligence from the agriculture sector on water resilience. Supplies in irrigation reservoirs have rapidly declined following a dry spring and many are now at less than 50% capacity. Conditions on abstraction licences to protect the environment also reduce water availability where river flows are low.

The EA has downgraded its spray irrigation prospects forecast for farmers following the dry weather and deterioration in the water resources position. The EA’s irrigation prospect report includes support packages available for farmers to increase their resilience.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
18411
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Agriculture Weather Water supply Impact assessments
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk