Emma Hardy

Before that, the UK needs to be more prepared than ever for bad weather this winter.

That was the warning from the Environment Minister Emma Hardy, ahead of the first named storm of the autumn, Storm Austin, which is forecast to bring strong winds and heavy rain to the south and southwest of England from tonight.

In the Commons, one MP feared that the strongest El Nino weather event in a generation could make things worse, as Rachel Byrne reports.

El Niño is a natural climate event that pushes up global temperatures and can increase the risks of extreme weather.

This year we have already seen the unprecedented climate impacts that we've had this summer and with the Super El Nino on its way we will see threats to global weather patterns including a forecasted colder, wetter and stormier winter for the UK.

He asked what the government was doing to make sure the country was ready for flooding in particular.

The Environment Minister Emma Hardy said that a ministerial task force was already focused on preparations.

I'm determined that this year, because quite rightly of El Nino and the concerns that he's raised, we need to be more prepared than we've ever been before.

Order! Order.

Hello, I'm Sean Curran, and this is Today in Parliament from BBC Radio 4 for Friday the 16th of October, when the Water Minister said more than 80% of England was suffering a drought.

We can all help by thinking about ways to use water wisely over the coming weeks.

But the Conservatives accused ministers of being slow to react.

We have the situation in the NHS where, for example, manual handling is mandatory, but suicide prevention training is not mandatory.

But first, after the driest six months for more than a century, severe drought has been declared across parts of southern England.

The Water Minister, Emma Hardy, told MPs that over 80% of England was now in drought, affecting around 50 million people.

She said water companies had been told to carry out daily monitoring of reservoir and river levels in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, and Sussex.

The southeast and southwest of England have had their driest April to September in over a century, and record-breaking summer heat helped drain reservoirs further.

Here's the Water Minister, Emma Hardy.

What we're asking now as we move into severe drought is we're asking the public to please use water wisely, and it also enables the Environment Agency to make sure that when it comes to abstraction, they prioritize supply for the public.

The government says supplies to homes and businesses will not be interrupted.

That doesn't mean we shouldn't care for people in the meantime.

The Water Minister, Emma Hardy, said for too long, pollution, poor performance and financial instability in the water industry has left customers and communities to pay the price.

This situation can't continue, she says, which is why the government will give the public more control and help keep bills as low as possible.

Andy, what are people's rights, though, when something like this happens? What kind of compensation should people like Carol be getting?

Mm

... where 60 MPs from all over the country had come down to speak to Emma Hardy, um, about, uh, the, the state of the affairs.

And I was sat next to a guy called Joe, and he, he...

We were, we were chatting, and I was like, "So who are you, then?" And he was like, "Oh, I'm, I'm Joe." He was like, "How did you get into this?" And I was like, "Oh, Dirty Business."

The government and the environment agency said that they were continuing to scrutinize water company actions and ensure they are adhering to statutory drought plans to conserve suppliers and support communities.

Water Minister Emma Hardy said the recent rainfall is not yet enough to replenish all of the water we have used over the spring and summer, and the Yorkshire drought declaration highlights the situation is still serious.

Next, Quality Meat Scotland has warned the country's pig sector remained under significant pressure as rising costs and weak prices continue to squeeze producer margins, not only in Scotland and the rest of the UK, but also across Europe with global markets facing similar conditions.

GB pig prices edged higher in September, but QMS said this modest improvement has not translated into better producer returns.

The updated statistics come after Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Defra Secretary Dame Angela Eagle both made clear this week that water is a priority area for the government.

Water Minister Emma Hardy said, "This is further evidence that fundamental reform is needed to make the water sector deliver for the public interest.

We know this year's record dry spring and successive summer heatwaves have really stretched water resources, but any further disruption to customer supplies would be entirely unacceptable." The government has said on top of action taken throughout the summer, such as weekly national drought group meetings, there will be wholesale reform of the industry through the strengthened water bills.

It intends to set out more details about this in the coming months.