Storm Darragh
Debate between Joe Morris and Abena Oppong-Asare(1 week, 5 days ago)
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Ms Oppong-Asare
There is already a long-standing relationship between central Government and responders, underpinned by the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government already works with local resilience forums on preparing for, and acting during, responses to emergencies, and provides a direct line of communication for them to central Government. The Met Office is our statutory responder under the Civil Contingencies Act, which strengthens its role at the heart of UK resilience. I recognise the contribution of resilience forums, and in particular the role that they played during the storm.
Joe Morris (Hexham) (Lab)
Northumberland has been battered by storms in recent years, most dramatically and devastatingly by Storm Arwen. Can the Minister assure me that she and her colleagues are taking proactive steps to protect communities in some of the most isolated places in my constituency from the devastating impact of these storms?
Ms Oppong-Asare
The flood resilience taskforce set up by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is looking into exactly those issues.