Oral QuestionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of requiring water companies to be statutory consultees for new housing developments.

Tabled: 16 September 2025Answered: 13 October 2025

Asked by

Edward Morello

Liberal DemocratWest Dorset

Answering Minister

the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government

Answer from Hansard

The Minister for Housing and Planning (Matthew Pennycook)

Water companies are not statutory consultees on individual planning applications, but they are consulted as part of the preparation of local development plans. On 26 January, the Government declared a moratorium on any new statutory consultees and announced a review of the existing statutory consultee arrangements. A consultation on proposals designed to limit the scope of statcons to where advice is strictly necessary and to remove entirely a limited number of them will be published in the near future.