Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure customers are compensated when water companies fail to meet Ofwat targets.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under new proposals set out by this Government, households and businesses will be entitled to higher payments from water companies when basic services are hit in a wider range of circumstances – with payments water company customers are legally entitled to when key standards are not met at least doubling.
The Government is also expanding the list of circumstances that can trigger compensation, to include payments for boil notices when drinking water standards drop, and for failures to conduct meter readings or installations as promised. It would mean recent outages in Hastings, Brixham and Bramley earlier this year would have all automatically led to compensation at higher rates for all customers.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve (a) resilience and (b) preparation for flooding.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has established a ministerially led cross-Governmental Flood Resilience Taskforce to ensure that communities are better protected from flooding, with the first meeting taking place in September. The Flood Resilience Taskforce will ensure that preparedness and resilience to flooding is reviewed regularly before the start of the main flood season; and that it is continuously improved to ensure optimum protection to people, homes and businesses.
In advance of the winter, MPs will receive advice on how to access the most up to date flood information from the EA and how to raise awareness of flooding with constituents.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to help protect rural communities at risk of flooding.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Protecting communities around the country from flooding and coastal erosion is one of the new Secretary of State’s five core priorities. That’s why we are launching a Flood Resilience Taskforce to provide oversight of national and local flood resilience and preparedness ahead of and after the winter flood season.
In the current floods investment programme, approximately 40% of the Environment Agency’s flood defence schemes, and 45% of their investment, protect properties in rural communities. We will review the floods programme to ensure flood risk management is fit for the challenges we face now and in the future.
Working with farmers and landowners is an important part of the Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy Roadmap up to 2026. As part of this, the Rural Flood Resilience Partnership focuses on helping farmers and land managers adapt to a changing climate.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has allocated funding for flood defences in Hertfordshire.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has allocated capital grants for new flood defences as well as maintenance funding for existing flood defence assets in Hertfordshire.
For the financial year 24/25 (April 2024 - March 2025), the Environment Agency's allocated funding for asset maintenance in Hertfordshire is £1,040,280. This figure covers their expected maintenance on flood defence assets and main river channels under their permitted powers, including vegetation management, operational checks on flood defence assets, treatment of invasive non-native species, mechanical and electrical inspections, and inspection and maintenance of public safety measures.
In addition, as of 4 September 2024, £6,480,444 of Grant in Aid has been allocated to capital flood defence projects in Hertfordshire for the financial year 24/25.