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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken in the last three years to ensure that United Utilities have increased drainage capacity in Cumbria since Storm Desmond in 2015-16.

Following Storm Desmond, United Utilities reviewed the resilience of its assets in Cumbria, working with the Environment Agency and Cumbria County Council to produce section 19 reports (Flood and Water Management Act 2010) to investigate the flood incident.

United Utilities also completed a detailed Integrated Drainage Area Study in the Carlisle catchment. It analysed the entire drainage system and worked with stakeholders to produce a comprehensive plan which is now informing investment decisions and shaping how the company operates the drainage system to optimise its resilience.

In the current 2015-20 investment period, United Utilities is investing around £35million in major capital schemes on the sewer network in Cumbria, including £22million in the last two years on the county’s drainage systems.