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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his Department's policy is on financial support for farmers affected by heavy flooding.

It is the long-standing policy of successive Governments that compensation is not paid for losses due to damage caused by flooding or coastal erosion. This is because, except in very limited circumstance, no-one has a right to flood or coastal erosion defences or, if defences are provided, there is no legal requirement to provide any particular standard of defence.

Farms are businesses and, like all businesses, should take actions to try and limit the impacts of flooding on their property or assets, and aim to have insurance in place for any losses incurred by a flood.