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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when details of community engagement with Parish Councils and local Flood Action Groups will be published on the Environment Agency website.

The Environment Agency’s Severn Valley Water Management Scheme (SVWMS) project team will be presenting at the next Shropshire Association of Local Councils meeting. They are also due to engage with the Shropshire Flood Action Group Forum – a forum which consists of members from across a number of local flood action groups - that has been set up with the support of the National Flood Forum. The Environment Agency’s project team will update Parish Councils and flood action groups on the long-term strategy development for the Upper Severn catchment and how support can be provided to build community resilience over the coming months. The Environment Agency already hosts a dedicated SVWMS Citizen Space page, which is regularly updated with all the latest information regarding the scheme’s progress and includes information such as community engagement dates, and can be accessed here: Severn Valley Water Management Scheme - Environment Agency - Citizen Space (environment-agency.gov.uk)

As the above discussions progress, the Environment Agency will undertake a more comprehensive programme of engagement with local communities across the Upper Severn catchment. Details of this next stage of engagement will be released in due course and will appear on the Citizen Space page.