Flooding

Diana Johnson Excerpts

Monday 26th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paterson]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right—making sure all those channels are kept clear is part of the management of them. In recent days, we have seen complete and total saturation of the land and no matter how clear some of the channels have been kept, there has been nowhere for the water to go. He is quite right to mention the channels—several Members have raised that point with me—and I will talk to the Environment Agency about it.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

Hull had 14,000 homes affected by the flooding in 2007 and the former Secretary of State said to me on the Floor of the House:

“I am proud that we have found a way forward with the insurance industry that, above all, guarantees that universal and affordable insurance remains available to all, including to her”—

my—

“constituents.”—[Official Report, 25 June 2012; Vol. 547, c. 30.]

Was she correct or incorrect to say that?

[Mr Paterson]

We are quite clear as a Government that we want to come up with a scheme that is affordable, as universal as possible and not a burden on the Treasury. We are working towards that, as was my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), my predecessor.