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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much the Government has invested in Cumbria to reduce the risk of flooding downstream of reservoirs in each of the last five years.

The Environment Agency has strategic oversight of all sources of flooding and coastal erosion, including reservoir flooding. The Environment Agency also has a regulatory role in managing flood risk with reservoirs and works to make sure reservoir owners effectively manage their own flood risk.

Where appropriate, reducing the risk of flooding downstream from reservoirs is integrated within flood risk management schemes. The Environment Agency does not collect separate financial information for measures to reduce this specific flood risk.

The Government is committed to reducing flood risk and has made the following capital investment to flood and coastal erosion risk management in Cumbria in each of the last five years: