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.

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.