Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Curtis Excerpts

Thursday 13th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Chris Curtis (Milton Keynes North) (Lab)]

2. What steps she has taken to improve access to nature.

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Reynolds)]

I am a Buckinghamshire Member, Mr Speaker, but there we go.

The Government are delivering our manifesto commitments to improve access to nature and deliver three national forests. We recently announced that the second national forest will be in the Oxford-Cambridge corridor. Milton Keynes is the beating economic heart of that corridor, and we will deliver economic opportunities and even better access to nature side by side in my hon. Friend’s great city.

[Chris Curtis]

I welcome the comments about Milton Keynes, the largest economy in the Oxford-Cambridge corridor, and we are very excited about the upcoming forest. The Wetland Arc, led by the Parks Trust, is another exciting project that spans the Great Ouse valley in my constituency. It will bring significant benefits for both people and nature, improving biodiversity, strengthening flood resilience and creating new opportunities for recreation and wellbeing across the area. We recently got some funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to start the project. Can the Secretary of State assure me that the Government will continue to support strategic initiatives such as this across the country to deliver environmental protection, enhance community wellbeing and expand opportunities for everyone to enjoy and engage with nature?

[Emma Reynolds]

I commend my hon. Friend for championing the Wetland Arc project in his constituency. Wetlands enhance water quality and biodiversity, and provide effective natural flood defences. As he suggests, we will continue to support initiatives such as these, and I would be delighted to visit his constituency, should he so wish, because it is very near mine.

Storm Bert

Chris Curtis Excerpts

Monday 25th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Steve Reed]

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. We need to look at dredging and other means of mitigating the risk of flooding, and he is quite right that that needs to be done across Government. We will have those conversations and will ensure that measures are taken to protect communities as much as possible from the more severe weather events that we are seeing as a result of climate change.

[Chris Curtis (Milton Keynes North) (Lab)]

As my right hon. Friend was speaking, the water levels on the River Ouse continued to rise, which means that tonight my constituents in Newport Pagnell are once again bracing themselves and preparing their homes, businesses and farms for the second flooding incident in just a few weeks. Will my right hon. Friend join me in praising the dedicated volunteers of the Newport Pagnell flood group for their tireless work in protecting our local town? Will he pay tribute to our local firefighters who are responding to this incident? Their water response unit in Newport Pagnell deals with incidents across the area. I should declare an interest: my brother is one of those brave local firefighters and is currently responding to an incident in Beaconsfield. Will my right hon. Friend also outline what steps the Government are taking to ensure that communities such as Newport Pagnell are better safeguarded against flooding in future?

[Steve Reed]

I share my hon. Friend’s praise for volunteers and the emergency services, and particularly for his brother, for the work that they are carrying out. I am sure that he will welcome our review of the funding formula, which will ensure that all appropriate steps are taken in whichever parts of the country are affected, to improve resilience against the kind of flooding that we have seen over recent days. I know that the Environment Agency is aware of the rising water levels in the Ouse and other slower-moving rivers and is taking appropriate steps to safeguard people in Newport Pagnell, in other parts of his constituency and, indeed, along the rest of those rivers who may be affected as river levels continue to rise.