Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Percy Excerpts

Thursday 21st January 2021 Commons Chamber

[George Eustice]

Late last year, we held a flood summit to discuss some of the particular challenges around the River Calder in my hon. Friend’s constituency. There have been a number of important projects around that area, including at Hebden Bridge, where I believe construction is well under way. Further projects are in the pipeline, and we continue to work with the Environment Agency to manage water catchments effectively.

[Andrew Percy (Brigg and Goole) (Con) [V]]

All that water from the Calder that we just heard about finds its way into my constituency via the River Aire, and we have, yet again, another nervous wait here in the lower catchment as the washlands start to fill and flood alerts and warnings are issued. Will the Secretary of State comment on the adequacy of the flood defence funding rules for communities such as mine, which repeatedly face flooding issues, or flood alerts and warnings?

[George Eustice]

My hon. Friend’s constituency is in a unique area with a unique geography, as he knows, and it does face frequent flooding—it was among the worst-affected when we had the floods last year. We will shortly issue a consultation on changes to the flooding formula, and one thing that we want is for greater weight to be placed on frequently flooded communities.