§ Mr. FearnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what steps he is taking to discourage water companies from abstracting water from rivers. [5270]
§ Ms Angela EagleAbstraction of water from rivers is subject to licensing requirements, set out in Chapter II of the Water Resources Act 1991 and administered by the Environment Agency. At the Water Summit we held in May, we made it clear to water companies that they must make stringent efforts to improve their management of the demand for water. We also said that we would review the water abstraction licensing system, with a key aim of ensuring that the needs of the environment are given due weight in licensing decisions. That review is currently underway.