Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on activating the Bellwin Scheme in response to (a) Storm Bert and (b) other storms.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The impact of flooding, wherever it occurs, is traumatic for the communities impacted and I have great sympathy for all those affected. The government is ready to consider local authority requests for Bellwin Scheme support which can help with the reimbursement of immediate eligible costs for the local authorities affected by the recent storms, including Storm Bert.

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 help (a) farmers and (b) animal-related industries to reduce the likelihood of bluetongue virus spreading.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Early identification was crucial to enabling a rapid response to a bluetongue outbreak. Defra provided free pre-movement testing to animal keepers in counties at the highest risk of incursion from infected midges originating from the continent.

A restriction zone has been established to cover the counties affected by bluetongue. This measure has been carefully considered to protect the free-area from disease spread while allowing free-movement of animals within the zone, keeping businesses disruption to a minimum.

Bluetongue is a vector-borne disease transmitted by midges and is challenging to control without vaccination. Responding to the emerging bluetongue-3 epizootic, Defra have worked at pace with vaccine manufacturers, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, and industry to permit the use of three vaccines, enabling keepers to voluntarily protect their stock.

To reduce the impact on animal businesses Defra have designated numerous slaughterhouses and published General Licences enabling animals from the zone to be slaughtered at those slaughterhouses with minimal disruption. Markets within the restricted zone can operate and Defra has approved markets located outside the zone to take animals from the zone.

The situation is reviewed regularly with consideration given to the proportionality of controls informed by science and the department’s close working with industry.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on tackling avian influenza outbreaks in England.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Following the detection of notifiable avian influenza in poultry in England, Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) have stood up their well-established outbreak structures to control and eradicate disease, restore normal trade, and assist local communities’ recovery. This includes putting in place control zones to help manage disease.

All bird keepers are urged to remain vigilant and take action to protect their birds following a further increase in the avian influenza risk levels in Great Britain, and check GOV.UK regularly to remain informed of the controls in their area. Scrupulous biosecurity remains best practice for protecting the health and welfare of flocks. All registered bird keepers will receive regular updates and guidance to help protect their birds from avian influenza.

Supporting bird keepers, the public and conservation bodies to manage and prepare for avian influenza continues to be one of our main priorities. Defra and APHA will continue to work closely with industry to ensure good flock management and husbandry practices are implemented on all farms regardless of size or scale.

Defra continue to monitor the situation and the need for an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) will be considered in response to further increases in risk.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish the speech made by the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs at the Vegetarian Society event on 13 November 2024.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Minister Zeichner spoke briefly at this reception. This is something he often does at similar events. Defra does not routinely publish transcripts of such remarks and there are no plans to deviate from convention.

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 made an assessment of the potential impact of dredging on flood mitigation.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Dredging and clearing channels are an important option for watercourse maintenance, where it is technically and cost effective, does not significantly increase flood risk for others downstream, and does not damage the environment and wildlife. Its effectiveness varies substantially for each stretch of watercourse, it is unlikely to be effective in isolation and is usually part of a wider approach. In many cases the silt will quickly build up again.

Where watercourse maintenance is the responsibility of the Environment Agency it focuses its efforts on those activities which will achieve the greatest benefit in terms of protecting people and property from flooding. This includes dredging, which the Environment Agency will undertake an assessment of, working in close consultation with local communities.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Flood Re scheme to businesses.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Flood Re is a joint government and industry flood reinsurance scheme established specifically to help UK households at high risk of flooding to access affordable insurance. As such, it is funded via a levy on UK household insurers.

Business insurance operates differently to household insurance. It is often bespoke, based on the individual nature of the business. It is important to note that there is no evidence of a systemic problem for businesses being able to access flood insurance.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Ministry of Defence on the potential merits of using the Armed Forces during extreme weather events.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra has longstanding arrangements with the Ministry of Defence to secure military support for flood response when this is required.

There are well practiced procedures for requesting Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA) at national and local levels.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to paragraph 4.105 of the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October, if he will maintain spending on flood resilience over the next five years.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We will invest £2.4 billion across 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience, by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences. Longer term funding decisions will be made at the next Spending Review.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero and (b) energy companies on resilience capability in the event of instances of power cuts during extreme weather events.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues, and Cabinet discussions are considered confidential.

The Government works closely with electricity networks to continually improve and maintain the resilience of energy infrastructure. In the event of a disruption, electricity network operators have well practiced response plans in place to minimise any disruption to customers, as far as possible.

Found: Presented by Dr Danny Chambers supported by Dr Neil Hudson, Vikki Slade, James MacCleary, Max Wilkinson

Found: Presented by Dr Danny Chambers supported by Dr Neil Hudson , Vikki Slade , James MacCleary , Max