The water shortfall situation in England has been described as a “nationally significant incident”, with five areas officially in drought ahead of an amber heat health alert coming into force for large parts of the country.

Six further areas are experiencing prolonged dry weather following the driest six months to July since 1976.

Many river flows and water reservoir levels in England continue to recede compared to June despite some storms and showers in July, which helped mask that it was still the fifth-warmest July on record.

Drier conditions have returned in August and now parts of the country are bracing for the fourth heatwave 2025, with today’s amber alert covering the East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, and the South East.

Temperatures are forecast to rise above 30C (86F) in some areas, possibly even soaring past 35C (95F) in the south, threatening this year’s heat record of 35.8C (95.4F) in Faversham, Kent, on 1 July.

A milder yellow heat health alert is in place for the South West, North East, North West, Yorkshire and The Humber.

The alerts by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) are due to be in place from 9am today until 6pm tomorrow, and put more pressure on struggling public water supplies and navigational waterways.

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‘We are calling on everyone to play their part’

The National Drought Group (NDG), which includes the Met Office, government, regulators, water companies, the National Farmers’ Union, Canal & River Trust, anglers, and conservation experts, met at the start of the week to highlight the water-saving measures each sector is taking.

The group praised the public for reducing their daily usage, after Yorkshire Water reported a 10% reduction in domestic demand following the introduction of their hosepipe ban, which saved up to 80 million litres per day.

“The situation is nationally significant, and we are calling on everyone to play their part and help reduce the pressure on our water environment,” said Helen Wakeham, NDG chair and director of water at the Environment Agency.

“Water companies must continue to quickly fix leaks and lead the way in saving water.

“We know the challenges farmers are facing and will continue to work with them, other land users, and businesses to ensure everyone acts sustainably.”

The rainfall at the end of July was welcomed by growers, even though the dry weather is set to have an impact on the harvest, with the National Farmers Union (NFU) noting how water shortages have impacted the growing season.

“Some farms are reporting a significant drop in yields, which is financially devastating for the farm business and could have impacts for the UK’s overall harvest,” NFU vice-president Rachel Hallos said.

Ms Hallos urged that investment in water infrastructure and a more effective planning system was urgently needed “to avoid the swing between extreme drought and flooding and to secure water supplies for food production”.

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The dry weather also impacts the health of the waterways, as low water levels reduce oxygen levels in the water, which can lead to fish deaths, more algae growth, and could prevent wildlife from moving up or downstream.

Water minister Emma Hardy said the government is “urgently stepping up its response” to respond to dry weather, including investment in new reservoirs, but called on firms to do their bit.

“Water companies must now take action to follow their drought plans,” she said.

“I will hold them to account if they delay.”

“We face a growing water shortage in the next decade,” the minister warned, which she said is why building new reservoirs – something the government has criticised the previous administration for not doing – is so important.

The hot and dry conditions have also led to warnings of wildfires, following blazes near Wimborne in Dorset and at Edinburgh’s Arthur’s Seat over the weekend.

Campaigners have criticised a change to the rules around declarations of interest in the House of Lords as a “retrograde step” which will lead to a “significant loss of transparency”. 

Since 2000, peers have had to register a list of “non-financial interests” – which includes declaring unpaid but often important roles like being a director, trustee, or chair of a company, think tank or charity.

But that requirement was dropped in April despite staff concerns.

Tom Brake, director of Unlock Democracy, and a former Liberal Democrat MP, wants to see the decision reversed.

“It’s a retrograde step,” he said. “I think we’ve got a significant loss of transparency and accountability and that is bad news for the public.

“More than 25 years ago, the Committee on Standards in Public Life identified that there was a need for peers to register non-financial interests because that could influence their decisions. I’m confused as to what’s happened in the last 25 years that now means this requirement can be scrapped.

“This process seems to be all about making matters simpler for peers, rather than what the code of conduct is supposed to do, which is to boost the public’s confidence.”

Westminster Accounts: Search for your MP

Rules were too ‘burdensome’, say peers

The change was part of an overhaul of the code of conduct which aimed to “shorten and clarify” the rules for peers.

The House of Lords Conduct Committee argued that updating non-financial interests was “disproportionately burdensome” with “minor and inadvertent errors” causing “large numbers of complaints”.

As a result, the register of Lords interests shrunk in size from 432 pages to 275.

MPs have a different code of conduct, which requires them to declare any formal unpaid positions or other non-financial interests which may be an influence.

A source told Sky News there is real concern among some Lords’ staff about the implications of the change.

Non-financial interest declarations have previously highlighted cases where a peer’s involvement in a think tank or lobbying group overlapped with a paid role.

Cricket legend among peers to breach code

There are also examples where a peer’s non-financial interest declaration has prompted an investigation – revealing a financial interest which should have been declared instead.

In 2023, Lord Skidelsky was found to have breached the code after registering his role as chair of a charity’s trustees as a non-financial interest.

The Commissioner for Standards investigated after questions were raised about the charity, the Centre for Global Studies.

He concluded that the charity – which was funded by two Russian businessmen – only existed to support Lord Skidelsky’s work, and had paid his staff’s salaries for over 12 years.

In 2021, Lord Botham – the England cricket legend – was found to have breached the code after registering a non-financial interest as an unpaid company director.

The company’s accounts subsequently revealed he and his wife had benefitted from a director’s loan of nearly £200,000. It was considered a minor breach and he apologised.

‘Follow the money’

Lord Eric Pickles, the former chair of the anti-corruption watchdog, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, believes focusing on financial interests makes the register more transparent.

“My view is always to follow the money. Everything else on a register is camouflage,” he said.

“Restricting the register to financial reward will give peers little wriggle room. I know this is counterintuitive, but the less there is on the register, the more scrutiny there will be on the crucial things.”

‘I was shocked’

The SNP want the House of Lords to be scrapped, and has no peers of its own. Deputy Westminster leader Pete Wishart MP is deeply concerned by the changes.

“I was actually quite horrified and quite shocked,” he said.

“This is an institution that’s got no democratic accountability, it’s a job for life. If anything, members of the House of Lords should be regulated and judged by a higher standard than us in the House of Commons – and what’s happened is exactly the opposite.”

Public confidence in the Lords is already at a low ebb after the PPE controversy surrounding Baroness Michelle Mone, who took a leave of absence in 2022.

The government has pledged to reform the House of Lords and is currently trying to push through a bill abolishing the 92 remaining hereditary peers, which will return to the House of Commons in September.

But just before recess the bill was amended in the Lords so that they can remain as members until retirement or death. It’s a change which is unlikely to be supported by MPs.

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A spokesperson for the House of Lords said: “Maintaining public confidence in the House of Lords is a key objective of the code of conduct. To ensure that, the code includes rigorous rules requiring the registration and declaration of all relevant financial interests held by members of the House of Lords.

“Public confidence relies, above all, on transparency over the financial interests that may influence members’ conduct. This change helps ensure the rules regarding registration of interests are understandable, enforceable and focused on the key areas of public concern.

“Members may still declare non-financial interests in debate, where they consider them directly relevant, to inform the House and wider public.

“The Conduct Committee is appointed to review the code of conduct, and it will continue to keep all issues under review. During its review of the code of conduct, the committee considered written evidence from both Unlock Democracy and Transparency International UK, among others.”

Rugby chiefs have admitted to Sky News their sport is not “incredibly safe” due to the “high risk of injuries”, while insisting players should be encouraged they are prioritising addressing concussion concerns.

The candour on the dangers from head collisions comes ahead of the Women’s Rugby World Cup starting in England next week.

At that tournament, for the first time at a World Cup, smart mouthguards will flash red if they detect potential concussions that require further assessment by measuring the force and movement from a head impact.

“We could stick our head in the sand and pretend something doesn’t exist, but that’s not going to help anybody,” World Rugby science and medical manager Dr Lindsay Starling told Sky News.

“It is a sport that has a high risk of injuries and that comes from the physical contact nature of the game, which is also what we all love about watching it. And so that can’t be ignored.

“We can’t pretend that the sport is incredibly safe and there’s no risk of injury. And so by creating more awareness when there has been a substantial head knock, that’s important to educate people.”

There is an expectation one player per match could be removed due to potential head injury at the World Cup, which opens with England playing the US in Sunderland next Friday.

Players would then leave the pitch for a head injury assessment. Footage is then analysed to see how steady players are after the impact.

Then they would be asked a series of questions to test memory and concentration. Players are asked to remember words from a list read out and to repeat numbers in a different sequence.

A critical time for rugby

Rugby being so candid about the potential risks from head injuries comes as the sport is facing legal action from more than 700 mostly male former players who claim leaders were negligent in failing to take reasonable action to protect them from brain injuries.

The case is progressing slowly with challenges, including around historic medical records.

“Concussion is obviously incredibly serious,” Dr Starling said at the England team HQ at Twickenham.

“It’s absolutely our number one priority in terms of understanding why they happen and doing what we can to reduce that.

“The other side of that argument, though, is that we know this information. It would be more scary or more of a worry if we didn’t know that.”

World Rugby believes female players are more susceptible to being concussed than their male counterparts but at “much lower magnitudes”.

They are still exploring why. It could be due to physical differences in neck strength and blood flow metabolic rates, or it could combine with female players accessing more technical training later on.

Parental concern over women’s game

But how does the spectre of brain injuries chime with the mission of the World Cup to super-charge the women’s game in England, by expanding the audience and encouraging youngsters to play?

Especially with those flashing mouthguards warning of potential concussions.

Dr Starling admits it creates a concern. But to parents doubting whether their children should take up rugby, there’s an attempt to offer some reassurances from those overseeing safety, citing enhanced technology.

“We’ve never been in a situation where we know more about what the risk is,” World Rugby chief medical officer Dr Eanna Falvey told Sky News.

“That will improve over time, so our job is to give parents the autonomy to make a decision that they can about their daughter’s playing.

Ferocity at the heart of rugby

“If their daughter wants to play, we want to help them arrive at a decision that they’re happy with the level of exposure the daughter has and what they can do about it.

“There’s a lot of health dangers from not being involved in sport. Physical inactivity is the biggest health concern in the Western world right now.

“So being involved with team sport has huge benefits.”

And Prof Falvey emphasised the essence of rugby is, at times, the ferocity.

“It’s a contact sport,” he said. “Nobody shies away from that fact. I think people who play the game play it because they want to play contact sports. Our job is to make that game as safe as we can.”