Business of the House

Luke Evans Excerpts

Thursday 16th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

Order. It may be helpful to Members to know that I will run this session until 11.45 am. It would therefore be very helpful if we had short questions and answers, so that I can get in as many Members as possible.

[Dr Luke Evans (Hinckley and Bosworth) (Con)]

Leicestershire was one of the areas hit by significant flooding. Fortunately, my constituency is relatively okay, bar pockets such as Shenton, Barwell, Sheepy Magna and Witherley. The problem is that they do not hit the Government’s threshold for funding because they are too small and often experience flooding only to roads and connectors, rather than houses. Will the Leader of the House write to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to ask him to reconsider the formula, and to provide for isolated communities that are cut off but do not get breaches into houses? That problem is fundamentally difficult to solve.

[Lucy Powell]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. The changes in global weather as a result of climate change mean that flooding incidents are more frequent and more acute, and are often hyper-localised, rather than widespread. He makes a compelling point about the impact of localised flooding not just on homes but on local infrastructure. I will certainly ensure that that is considered by the Secretary of State.