Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the Climate Security Taskforce's planned timetable is for holding its first meeting; and whether a record of that meeting will be published.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Taskforce on the National Security and Resilience Risks of a Changing Climate and Nature Loss will meet for the first time in the Autumn. A record of that meeting will not be published to allow for open and candid discussion among participants. The public will be kept informed of the Taskforce’s progress and outputs, and we will set out our approach to this in due course.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department still produces Emerging Trends reports, which were bi-annual publications highlighting key developments and their implications produced by the Defra Futures Project.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has no plans to publish a 5th Edition of the Global Megatrends report at present. We continue to routinely monitor both long-term and short-term emerging trends and risks, including through engagement of our expert committees.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has (a) produced and (b) plans to produce a fifth edition of the global megatrends report that was published in 2024.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has no plans to publish a 5th Edition of the Global Megatrends report at present. We continue to routinely monitor both long-term and short-term emerging trends and risks, including through engagement of our expert committees.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of its policies on family visas.
Answered by Mike Tapp
The Family routes were established in 2012 aimed at enabling family life, while promoting financial independence and integration.
Reform is overdue. The system has become too complex, inconsistent and open to abuse, with British citizens facing the strictest requirements.
We are introducing a new family policy that will create a fairer and more consistent framework.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to issue guidance to insurers on communicating flood risk to homeowners whose insurance policies rely on Flood Re.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government works closely with Flood Re and the insurance industry to improve awareness and understanding of flood risk. Flood Re made a recommendation in their 2024 Quinquennial Review that insurers are required to make clear on their policy documents that a policy has been ceded to Flood Re which Government accepted www.floodre.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Flood-Re_QQR-2024_Digital.pdf.
They are also developing Flood Performance Certificate pilots which will provide clearer, trusted information on a property’s level of risk and resilience for use by householders, insurers and lenders. Piloting will begin later this year, with wider rollout to follow.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of closure of the Flood Re scheme in 2039 on the availability of mortgages for properties at high risk of flooding.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Government is engaging with the insurance industry and other stakeholders to examine whether the rationale to end the Flood Re scheme in 2039 as planned remains appropriate, or whether we need reconsider this timing in the light of the challenges of climate change. Consideration of mortgage availability for properties at high risk of flooding is included as part of this.
In 2025/26, Flood Re provided cover for over 353,000 household policies, with 742,000 properties benefitting since the scheme’s launch. As at March 2026, the average home insurance quote following a flood claim was around c.£1,316, compared with approximately £4,400 prior to Flood Re.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of uncertainty over the future of Flood Re on mortgage availability for properties at high risk of flooding.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Government is engaging with the insurance industry and other stakeholders to examine whether the rationale to end the Flood Re scheme in 2039 as planned remains appropriate, or whether we need reconsider this timing in the light of the challenges of climate change. Consideration of mortgage availability for properties at high risk of flooding is included as part of this.
In 2025/26, Flood Re provided cover for over 353,000 household policies, with 742,000 properties benefitting since the scheme’s launch. As at March 2026, the average home insurance quote following a flood claim was around c.£1,316, compared with approximately £4,400 prior to Flood Re.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to reach a policy decision before the end of this Parliament on the future of Flood Re beyond 2039.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Government is engaging with the insurance industry and other stakeholders to examine whether the rationale to end the Flood Re scheme in 2039 as planned remains appropriate, or whether we need reconsider this timing in the light of the challenges of climate change. Consideration of mortgage availability for properties at high risk of flooding is included as part of this.
In 2025/26, Flood Re provided cover for over 353,000 household policies, with 742,000 properties benefitting since the scheme’s launch. As at March 2026, the average home insurance quote following a flood claim was around c.£1,316, compared with approximately £4,400 prior to Flood Re.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Treasury about extending the Flood Re scheme beyond 2039.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Government is engaging with the insurance industry and other stakeholders to examine whether the rationale to end the Flood Re scheme in 2039 as planned remains appropriate, or whether we need reconsider this timing in the light of the challenges of climate change. Consideration of mortgage availability for properties at high risk of flooding is included as part of this.
In 2025/26, Flood Re provided cover for over 353,000 household policies, with 742,000 properties benefitting since the scheme’s launch. As at March 2026, the average home insurance quote following a flood claim was around c.£1,316, compared with approximately £4,400 prior to Flood Re.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the insurance industry about extending Flood Re beyond 2039.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Government is engaging with the insurance industry and other stakeholders to examine whether the rationale to end the Flood Re scheme in 2039 as planned remains appropriate, or whether we need reconsider this timing in the light of the challenges of climate change. Consideration of mortgage availability for properties at high risk of flooding is included as part of this.
In 2025/26, Flood Re provided cover for over 353,000 household policies, with 742,000 properties benefitting since the scheme’s launch. As at March 2026, the average home insurance quote following a flood claim was around c.£1,316, compared with approximately £4,400 prior to Flood Re.