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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will task the Environment Agency to produce a prioritised list of locations where dredging would improve conveyance and reduce flood risk.

The Environment Agency undertakes dredging where the evidence demonstrates that it is a cost effective way of managing flood risk, taking account of the other options available. Defra has asked the Environment Agency to gather evidence on locations on main rivers where dredging and associated vegetation control could cost effectively reduce flood risk, in discussion with expert stakeholders. The evidence gathered will help to identify the likely benefits, costs and environmental impacts of any such work, and ensure that the available funding is prioritised effectively as part of the Environment Agency’s routine programme of annual maintenance.