Flooding

Debate between Owen Paterson and Nick Gibb

Monday 6th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paterson]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her question and thank her for her expression of sympathy for all those who have suffered over the past few weeks. The Bellwin scheme is there to help exactly the sort of council she is talking about. She should work with her local council and encourage it to put in an application to the Department for Communities and Local Government. She can write to the Under-Secretary of State any time she likes, because he will take it up.

[Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton) (Con)]

The Environment Agency’s flood-alert service is a valuable early-warning system, but unfortunately it is not available to many households in Littlehampton and Bognor Regis. Given the serious flooding in my constituency in June 2012 and the fact that it is on a low-lying coastal plain, will the Secretary of State use his influence with the Environment Agency to ensure that the service is available to all my constituents?

[Mr Paterson]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for making that useful point. I think that the best thing for him to do would be to write to the Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for North Cornwall, so that we can put that in the mix and work with the Environment Agency on it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Owen Paterson and Nick Gibb

Thursday 16th May 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paterson]

We have begun preliminary investigations of the prospects of long-term flooding. As the hon. Gentleman knows, there is a possibility of major construction projects which may help.

[Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton) (Con)]

I welcome the Secretary of State’s announcement. Residents of Pagham and Middleton-on-Sea, in my constituency, greatly valued the visit by the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Newbury (Richard Benyon), on 29 April. Surface water flooding was a huge problem in my constituency on 10 June last year, and it is now becoming clear that silt build-up in the Pagham and Aldingbourne rifes exacerbated that flooding. Will my right hon. Friend encourage the Environment Agency to give greater priority to routine clearing and dredging of the main river water courses that are so important in preventing and mitigating flood damage?

[Mr Speaker]

Perhaps the hon. Gentleman should seek an Adjournment on the matter. He might even get it.

Horsemeat (Food Fraud)

Debate between Owen Paterson and Nick Gibb

Monday 11th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paterson]

I am happy to make clear that the only grounds on which we could talk to the Commission about a ban on the import of any product would relate to food safety, and to content that might be injurious to human health. Commissioner Borg has made clear that if we did come across a product that could present a risk to food safety, he would react very rapidly.

[Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton) (Con)]

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on his handling of this crisis, which has contrasted sharply with the way in which it has been handled by the FSA. When the dust has settled, will he conduct an inquiry into why the FSA’s intelligence systems failed to identify the extensive prevalence of horsemeat in processed and ready-made meals in this country?

[Mr Paterson]

I think that a system can always be improved. We inherited the current system from the last Government. I have no doubt that there will be lessons to be learnt from this episode, but, as I said in answer to an earlier question, the area in which I am most interested in pursuing real progress is the introduction of random testing. Too much is taken for granted under the present system. Too often, although the paperwork is supposed to describe what is on the pallet or the truck, it goes through the system and no one actually checks. I think that we could make a massive improvement within the current constraints of European competence and all the other arrangements, but I think that random testing would make a real difference. I am pleased that Lord Rooker was so sympathetic to that idea today, as was Commissioner Borg.

Flooding

Debate between Owen Paterson and Nick Gibb

Monday 26th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paterson]

As I said, we are having daily meetings with other Ministries such as the Department for Transport. I talked to the Secretary of State for Transport this afternoon, and we will continue in that vein. If my hon. Friend is concerned about a particular road, he should write to the Secretary of State to take it up directly with him.

[Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton) (Con)]

I thank the Secretary of State for his statement and for his reassurance on the renewal of the statement of principles. On 11 June this year, Bognor Regis and Littlehampton were severely affected by flooding, with hundreds of homes flooded following 36 hours of intense rainfall. West Sussex county council, as the lead statutory authority, is about to publish a detailed report into the implications of those floods. Will he ensure that Southern Water is encouraged and enabled by the regulator to allocate all the capital that is needed to upgrade surface water drainage systems so that weaknesses in the current system are strengthened and people can feel safe in their homes?

[Mr Paterson]

My hon. Friend raises a very important point—the key role played by water companies, which have an absolutely essential task in managing water. The Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Newbury and I will be happy to discuss the particular case that he mentioned.