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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to Government grants statistics 2020 to 2021, published on 31 March 2022, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Management of National Flood Response Assets Grant.

The Management of National Flood Response Assets Grant funds the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service’s management of a register of flood rescue assets, including rescue equipment and boats. This is to ensure the flood rescue teams from both Fire and Rescue Services and the voluntary sector are available. These teams can be deployed across England to aid rescue efforts during a flood incident, as they were in the West Midlands in February 2022.