Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the damage to the Dawlish Sea Wall from the closed-cell neoprene coming dislodged from the structure in December 2020.

The effectiveness and structural integrity of the new sea wall was demonstrated during the severe weather and flooding of part of the railway in Dawlish on 16 December 2020, with the new wall preventing this section of track from flooding. Network Rail’s contractors will continue to remove any dislodged neoprene as well as any material found on the beach.