Flooding

Debate between Lord Pickles and Jeremy Browne

Wednesday 26th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Sir Gerald Howarth (Aldershot) (Con)]

Will the Secretary of State give way?

[Mr Jeremy Browne (Taunton Deane) (LD)]

Will the Secretary of State give way?

[Mr Pickles]

No, the hon. Member for Vale of Clwyd (Chris Ruane) has first dibs, and then I will give way again.

[Mr Pickles]

I will come to that point towards the end of my speech. If the hon. Gentleman is not happy with my remarks, I will give way to him again.

[Mr Jeremy Browne]

The Secretary of State talked about the long-term task of clearing up after the floods. Is he able to provide some reassurance to my constituents that the A361, which is the principal road from Taunton into the middle of Somerset, will be passable once the floodwater has receded? Many of my constituents are nervous that even when the water has dissipated, the state of the road will mean that they are not allowed to travel along it.

[Mr Pickles]

We have put in some additional money ready for those precise circumstances. One of our concerns was about the riverbanks. Having looked carefully at the situation, and having had people in from the Netherlands to look at it, it seems as though they are in a very good condition. As for the condition of the road, as the hon. Gentleman will recognise, when it has been submerged for some time, the problem is not just potholes but the surface rising. We will be looking at that, because it is clearly of national importance to see it back in operation as quickly as possible.

Winter Floods

Debate between Lord Pickles and Jeremy Browne

Thursday 6th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

I do not think that we need to worry about the Secretary of State being bullied. Any Bradford Bulls supporter well knows how to deal with being bullied.

[Mr Jeremy Browne (Taunton Deane) (LD)]

To offer a balanced view, it is fair to say that many residents of Somerset feel that the Government were slow off the mark, but they are now grateful that the Government appear to be acting in a way that matches the enormous size of the challenge, particularly in dredging the River Tone and the River Parrett. Will the extra funding support, which the Secretary of State talked about today and the Prime Minister talked about yesterday, be made available in the long term for long-term solutions? There is now flooding right across Taunton Deane, not just on the Levels, and dealing with the problem requires a river catchment approach and a longer-term view, not only immediate responses to emergencies.

[Mr Pickles]

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend that the question is one of river catchments and long-term solutions. Our priority is obviously to deal with the immediate aftermath, but we clearly need to look at dredging. The previous Government probably made a mistake in ending the dredging.

For the avoidance of doubt, Mr Deputy Speaker, when I referred to being “bullied”, I was using the term ironically.