Coastal Erosion: Suffolk and Norfolk

Debate between Brandon Lewis and Peter Aldous

Tuesday 19th December 2023 Westminster Hall

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered coastal erosion in Suffolk and Norfolk.

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Dame Angela. Although erosion along the Suffolk and Norfolk coast is nothing new, it is accelerating, causing great distress and leaving a trail of devastation. In my constituency, Lowestoft remains the only UK coastal town of its size without formal flood defences. With another tidal surge predicted for later this week, a decision must be made imminently as to whether to put up the temporary demountable barriers that provide some protection.

Immediately to the south at Pakefield, three properties were lost last month and a rock revetment, which was installed last December to help protect an access road, is providing limited protection, with erosion of the cliff taking place at a speed that no one predicted. Further to the south at Kessingland, an innovative scheme has been worked up, which now requires additional funding due to the impact of covid and the ensuing inflation and supply chain pressures.

These challenges are not limited to the relatively short coastline of the current Waveney constituency. As we shall hear from colleagues, they are taking place all along the 140 miles of the Norfolk and Suffolk coast, not least at Hemsby in the constituency of my right hon. Friend the Member for Great Yarmouth (Sir Brandon Lewis). Many people and many organisations are working tirelessly to protect these communities that are so cruelly exposed, and some innovative solutions are being worked up.

[Sir Brandon Lewis (Great Yarmouth) (Con)]

My hon. Friend mentioned Hemsby and he is quite right: we have lost properties, as many people have seen in the press coverage over recent weeks. Does he agree that one challenge we have seen is that, along our coastline, the impact of extreme weather conditions over the past year or so has gone way beyond the changes that were predicted when we looked at this some years ago with the Environment Agency? It is overdue an update on what pressure there is; the impact that we have seen has gone far beyond what was expected.

[Peter Aldous]

I thank my right hon. Friend for that intervention, and I agree wholeheartedly with him: the schemes at Pakefield and Kessingland were made on assumptions that we would be having pressures in several years’ time; they have in fact taken place in the past months and weeks.

As I said, some innovative schemes are being worked up and people are working tirelessly. However, there is a concern that the scale of the challenge is not fully recognised, and that the necessary financial resources are not being provided. The impact of not responding properly will have far-reaching negative consequences way beyond East Anglia.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Brandon Lewis and Peter Aldous

Monday 31st October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

As part of a comprehensive strategy to improve the resilience of our fire and rescue services, it is necessary to take all reasonable steps to stop fires from starting in the first place. Will my right hon. Friend therefore liaise with the Department for Communities and Local Government to ensure that the long-awaited review of building regulations takes place, and that our strategy on the installation of fire sprinklers is brought into line with those of other countries?

[Brandon Lewis]

I thank my hon. Friend and constituency neighbour for his question. I will make sure that my colleagues in the Department for Communities and Local Government hear what he says. There are suppression products other than sprinklers that builders can use, but we are keen to make sure that homes continue to be safe. That is one reason why the number of fires is now, fortunately, pretty much at a historically low level.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Brandon Lewis and Peter Aldous

Monday 8th February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Brandon Lewis]

As I am sure the hon. Gentleman will appreciate, and as I said in the recent debate, we are working with the sector. The changes will come in in 2018, but we are very clear, and have always been very clear, that we will make sure that the most vulnerable in our society are protected.

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

11. Homeless hostels and foyers play a vital role in helping rough sleepers to get off the streets and into long-term homes. I would be grateful if my hon. Friend could confirm that housing associations will be given urgent clarity on whether the local housing allowance cap applies to those services. If it does not, there is a real worry that many will close and that, as a result, there will be an unnecessary rise in the numbers of young homeless people.

[Brandon Lewis]

My hon. Friend always fights hard for his constituents. Preventing youth homelessness is a priority for this Government. We are investing £15 million in the fair chance fund, an innovative payment-by-results scheme. That is helping some 2,000 vulnerable young homeless people to get into accommodation, education, training and employment. We will work closely with providers to find a long-term solution to the funding of supported accommodation.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Brandon Lewis and Peter Aldous

Monday 20th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Brandon Lewis]

My hon. Friend is right to highlight the excellent work done by local authorities and emergency services. I must stress that voluntary groups and schools also worked through the night. Particular credit must go to local organisations, such as the Norfolk Community Foundation and our great Eastern Daily Press, which have campaigned on behalf of local communities. I will invite those groups to talk to us about the lessons they have learned and what more we can do to ensure that the recovery goes smoothly.

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

I am grateful to the Minister for that answer. Repairs to sea defences were badly damaged in the storm surge on 5 December. They are not automatically covered by the Bellwin scheme. Will the Minister confirm that in his meetings with local authorities he will work with them to ensure that the repair works are carried out as quickly as possible so that coastal communities in Suffolk and Norfolk can get back on their feet?

[Brandon Lewis]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. The Bellwin scheme is only one part of the funding available for various issues from which areas affected by flooding will suffer. I am pleased to say that the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs will be addressing the matter of sea defences in a report to Parliament in the next few weeks, as the Environment Agency’s programme moves forward.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Brandon Lewis and Peter Aldous

Monday 4th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Brandon Lewis]

I am afraid that the right hon. Gentleman oversimplifies things. Local authorities have, as we have said, the right to look at their local communities and design schemes that they think are right for them, in contrast to the central diktat that the last Government used to impose. The authority that he has mentioned in Brentwood is a good example, because what he did not mention was the way it had changed the taper to ensure that it will pay to work.

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

2. What steps he is taking to help small shops with business rates.

Energy Industry (East Anglia)

Debate between Brandon Lewis and Peter Aldous

Tuesday 7th December 2010 Westminster Hall

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

I commend my hon. Friend on securing this debate. East Anglia has great potential to create new jobs in the energy sector, but does he agree that in order to realise that potential, it is vital to invest in skills and training to attract new businesses to the area?

[Brandon Lewis]

Absolutely. I agree. If my hon. Friend will bear with me, I will come to that in a few moments.

The EEEG’s strategy is to use the region’s enthusiasm for wind energy to encourage other opportunities and energy-saving activities, including the decommissioning of North sea platforms and the use of empty gas wells for carbon capture and storage. Decommissioning alone could be a huge industry for the east of England. We could become an area of leading expertise. We are perfectly placed in terms of proximity, expertise and history to do so.

It would boost the market and longer-term North sea oil and gas production if we moved forward with tax relief on security fund payments for the industry and reconsidered the currently high levels of financial security required for those platforms. At the moment, those and other issues are restricting the amount of investment and production, and the Treasury is arguably losing out as well.

Along with councils in Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft, 1st East is specifically directing a marketing campaign at companies involved in the first two rounds for wind turbines. The campaign is already generating visits to east coast ports, where companies are seeing that the area is superbly equipped for servicing the industry and cannot be beaten on proximity. The new deep-water port facilities in the outer harbour of Great Yarmouth, which can handle the largest offshore wind vessels, also make us more accessible, and the existing multi-energy supply chain is particularly attractive to companies entering the area.

We have also been boosted by the Government’s announcement of the A11 upgrade, which our area desperately needed. Without it, the region’s economic expansion would have been hampered. All those things have shown the industry that if it is willing to invest in Norfolk and Suffolk, we are willing too. Our Government have put their cards on the table by investing in the A11. It is a fantastic announcement that could boost the economy across a range of industries. However, securing investment and developing infrastructure alone will not be enough. We must similarly expand the skills base. Our colleges and world-class universities are providing skills for a new generation of apprentices and engineering graduates.