Written questions by Olney.

Food and Rural Affairs, what are the average cost differences between smart water meter bills and flatline bills.

Customers can be charged for water and sewerage through either the rateable value (unmetered) or via metered volume. Smart meters automatically monitor water usage, enabling water companies and customers to receive more regular data on water consumption. Smart metering offers an opportunity for customers to save money on their bills through identifying water wastage through leaks. Whilst the impacts on bills depend on individual circumstances and customer billing plans, the 2024 Baringa report on smart water metering showed that moving from unmetered charging to a ‘dumb’ meter can reduce water consumption by 12–15% and transitioning directly to smart meters can lead to reductions of up to 17%. Customers may wish to contact the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) for additional support and advice on getting a smart meter installed and the impacts this could have on their bills. Customers can use the CCW water meter calculator, to assess any potential bill savings they could make if they installed a smart water meter.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of ending the use of (a) cages for hens and (b) farrowing crates for pigs.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 29 April 2025 to the hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole, PQ UIN 47556

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to fund (a) rural and (b) coastal (i) infrastructure and (ii) services.

This Government is committed to improving the quality of life for people living and working in coastal and rural areas, so that we can realise the full potential of rural business and communities. In addition to funding for sustainable farming and nature recovery, the Government has confirmed investment of over £1.9 billion over four years into broadband and 4G connectivity, and £2.3 billion of Local Transport Grant funding for smaller cities, towns and rural area. This funding addresses the key blockers to growth in rural areas. On 19 May, we launched the “Fishing & Coastal Growth Fund” that will invest £360 million over the next 12 years to support the next generation of fishermen and breathe new life into our coastal communities.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2025 to Question 21168 on Amazonia: Rainforests, if he will provide a breakdown of the funding to the Andes-Amazon Biodiverse Landscape Fund.

The UK funded Biodiverse Landscapes Fund supports developing countries to fight poverty, protect nature, and tackle climate change in six landscapes, spanning 18 countries. In the Andes Amazon landscape, covering parts of Ecuador and Peru, the £12.3 million funding will be targeted to deliver three aims including: strengthening Indigenous Peoples and local community organisations; developing bio-business value chains that drive nature-friendly economic growth; and improving the connectivity and quality of conserved areas. Implementation is through a consortium of international and national organisations led by the global development charity Practical Action, selected through a competitive bid exercise, working in partnerships with the Governments of Ecuador and Peru. It is not possible to give a full breakdown of funding per activity at this stage as this will change over the course of delivering the seven-year programme.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish the Environment Agency’s modelling of average (a) daily and (b) monthly volumetric river flow rates for each gauging station on the Thames from Reading to Kingston for drought events that are (i) 1 in 100, (ii) 1 in 200 and (iii) 1 in 500 years.

The Environment Agency (EA) does not model flow at gauging stations using drought event return periods. The modelling of flow under a range of climate scenarios is carried out as part of planning by water companies to assess how resilient their supply systems are to droughts. This assessment is set out in their statutory Water Resources Management Plans (WRMP) and Drought Plans. Thames Water have worked with Water Resources South East (WRSE) regional group to model flow under a range of climate scenarios as a component of regional system simulation modelling which informs their WRMP. The EA is a statutory consultee for water company WRMPs and reviews the technical analysis undertaken by water companies showing how secure supplies are now (known as the baseline) and what actions are needed to ensure secure supplies in the future. The EA has reviewed Thames Water’s latest draft WRMP and is satisfied with the company’s evidence provided alongside its latest draft WRMP. I attended the National Drought Group meeting earlier this month on Wednesday 16 October 2024 where I outlined the pressure climate change is having on our water system and that we need to be prepared for all eventualities. This Government is taking decisive action to improve the resilience of our precious water supplies. For more information on water resource system modelling completed on behalf of Thames Water see the following links:wrse-hydrological-modelling-method-statement-november-2022.pdfmethod-statement-regional-simulation-model-aug-2021.pdf.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish the Environment Agency’s modelling of the average (a) daily and (b) monthly percentage of (i) usable and (ii) deployable capacity in each of the (A) Lower Lee Group and (B) Lower Thames Group reservoirs for drought events that are (1) 1 in 100, (2) 1 in 200 and (3) 1 in 500 years.

The Environment Agency (EA) does not model how resilient water company owned supply systems are to drought. It is the responsibility of the water companies to ensure that their systems can deliver secure water supplies for customers whilst ensuring they meet their environmental obligations and legal requirements during a drought. Every 5 years, water companies are required to evidence in their statutory Water Resources Management Plans (WRMP) how they will ensure secure supplies for the next 25 years. This includes consideration of resilience to extreme droughts, population growth, climate change and environmental water needs. The EA is a statutory consultee for water company WRMPs and reviews the technical analysis undertaken by water companies showing how secure supplies are now (known as the baseline) and what actions are needed to ensure secure supplies in the future. The EA has reviewed Thames Water’s latest draft WRMP and is satisfied with the company’s evidence provided alongside its latest draft WRMP. I attended the National Drought Group meeting earlier this month on Wednesday 16 October 2024 where I outlined the pressure climate change is having on our water system and that we need to be prepared for all eventualities. This Government is taking decisive action to improve the resilience of our precious water supplies. For more information on water resource system modelling completed on behalf of Thames Water see the following links:Library | WRSE - Water Resource South Eastmethod-statement-regional-simulation-model-aug-2021.pdf (wrse.org.uk)