Oral Answers to Questions

Damian Collins Excerpts

Thursday 24th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Richard Benyon]

I am glad to inform my hon. Friend that we are spending a lot of money—£2.3 billion of taxpayers’ money—on what the Government should be doing, which is building flood defences. In addition, we are looking carefully to ensure that we are supporting all the relevant agencies, such as the Environment Agency, to ensure that watercourses are flowing and that we are addressing all the factors that contribute to flooding. I entirely understand the desperation that his constituents must feel as a result of repeat flooding events, and we are working hard to deal with those.

[Damian Collins (Folkestone and Hythe) (Con)]

3. How many properties were protected from the recent flooding by flood defence schemes.

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

4. How many properties were protected from the recent flooding by flood defence schemes.

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mr Owen Paterson)]

The Environment Agency estimates that more than 22,000 properties in England and Wales that would otherwise have flooded in December have been protected through a combination of flood defences, maintenance work, storage basins and temporary defence measures. In addition, 183,000 properties were protected between April and November.

[Damian Collins]

Does the Secretary of State agree that it is important that the Environment Agency’s flood maps are as clear and accurate as possible? When the Dymchurch sea wall was completed in my constituency, it took a considerable time for the benefits of the scheme to be known to home owners and industry.

[Mr Paterson]

My hon. Friend raises an important point. The Environment Agency’s national flood risk assessment assesses the likelihood of flooding and that information should be transferred to insurance companies when the new data are available. I understand that local circumstances meant there was a delay in his constituency, but the map will be updated in April.