Written questions by Slaughter.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to release the White Paper on water reform in January 2026.

The Government will respond to the Independent Water Commission’s final recommendations in full via a White Paper shortly and a new water reform bill, bringing forward root and branch reform to secure better outcomes for customers, investors and the environment and restore trust and accountability. Together with the building blocks the Government has already put in place, this will mark the most fundamental reset to our water system in a generation. A new partnership between Government, the sector, investors and communities will deliver the change the public expects.

Food and Rural Affairs, what her Department's planned timelines are for considering the introduction of a national social tariff for water bills; and whether she is taking steps to ensure that the potential design for a national social tariff reaches those most in need.

This Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable and is working with industry to keep support schemes under review to ensure that vulnerable customers are supported. As such, we have carried out a consultation on reforms to WaterSure - the statutory scheme which caps water bills for low-income customers with higher water usage due to medical conditions or large households, including whether additional customers should be brought into scope of the scheme. The Government also expects all water companies to put appropriate support in place for customers struggling to pay their bills and to proactively engage with their customers to ensure they know what support schemes are available and how to use them if they need help. All companies have measures in place such as WaterSure, social tariffs, payment breaks and holidays, and debt management support.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to paragraph 3.54 of the Office for Budget Responsibility's publication entitled Economic and fiscal outlook, published in March 2025, if he will publish the assessments referenced.

In October 2024, the Government published an updated assessment of the impact of introducing the pEPR scheme on packaging volumes and recycling rates.