The House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee will hear evidence in person next week from Emma Hardy MP, Minister for Water and Flooding at Defra, when it concludes its current inquiry into drought preparedness in England and the Government’s drought response processes.

The inquiry is focussed on drought management practices and policies and whether these are sufficient for responding to current and future droughts. Issues being covered during the course of the inquiry include future drought risk, impacts, monitoring, engagement and changes in supply and demand. The inquiry is also aiming to identify opportunities for improved drought preparedness and response in England. The country is on course for a public water supply deficit of 5 billion litres a day by 2055.

The aims of the inquiry are to:

• Understand how drought will affect England in the short- and long-term, particularly in response to climate change.
• Evaluate how effective drought response plans and processes are, including coordination and communication at national, regional and local level.
• Clarify how drought actions are prioritised.
• Identify the opportunities for improved drought preparedness and response.

Water Minister Emma Hardy will appear before the Committee to provide oral evidence at 10:00am on Wednesday 11 February 2026.

Also giving evidence will be Martin Woolhead, Deputy Director for Water Infrastructure Delivery, Defra.

Questions from the committee will cover the following areas:

• cross-departmental coordination;
• prioritisation during severe drought;
• drought impacts and monitoring;
• leakage and pricing;
• water supply infrastructure;
• planning for water and water reuse;
• water White Paper reforms.

Previous witnesses who have appeared this year to give oral evidence to the inquiry, which was launched on 24 October include:

• Helen Wakeham Director of Water at the Environment Agency
• Paul Hickey Managing Director of RAPID at Ofwat
• Deborah Feldhaus Head of Water Resources at Yorkshire Water
• Geoff Darch Head of Strategic Asset Planning at Anglian Water
• Doug Clarke Water Resources Planning Lead at Severn Trent

Click here to watch next week's evidence session live on ParliamentLive TV or to catch up later