Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to encourage farmers and landowners to excavate and install lakes and reservoirs. [90192]

James Paice MP; Minister of State: The Water White Paper published last December summarised the Government’s support to farmers to improve the management of water resources,

23 Jan 2012 : Column 21W

including by the building of reservoirs. DEFRA’s surveys show that around one third of farms which are equipped to irrigate in England already have winter storage reservoirs. The Government encourage farmers to invest in building safe reservoirs through a number of measures, which include:

The Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), which has provided support for water management, including supporting the construction of 41 on-farm reservoirs and providing information and training on irrigation and soil management. Water management continues to be one of the measures supported by the new nationally consistent RDPE funded schemes. These are the Farming and Forestry Improvement Scheme, a small grants scheme launched last November, and the Rural Economy Grant, which is a grant scheme for larger projects to be launched in early 2012.

The Environment Agency can provide advice on positioning and construction methods for reservoirs to help farmers ensure they are safe and fit for purpose. The Government are working with the Environment Agency to develop technical guidance for farmers.

The Farming Advice Service has expanded the scope of its advice from 1 January 2012 and includes advice on abstraction licensing and on climate change adaptation, including water management.

The Water White Paper also gave further information on the Government’s commitment to reform the abstraction management regime. A key objective of this reform is to provide clearer signals to abstractors such as farmers to invest to meet water needs and protect water ecosystems, for example, through investment in reservoirs.

The report on the Farming Regulation Task Force included recommendations on the regulation of on-farm reservoirs and on the licensing of abstraction. The Government response will be published early this year and set out our response to these recommendations.