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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that small businesses can access flood insurance.

While we recognise the difficult challenges that some small businesses could face in accessing commercial flood insurance in areas of high flood risk, we are not currently aware of evidence that there is a systemic problem. Therefore, we have committed to work with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and other interested parties to monitor the insurance market for small businesses. We are keen to work across government, and with a range of business interests, to better understand the nature and extent of any problem that might exist.

The ABI have assured us that the insurance industry will continue to provide insurance to small businesses on a competitive basis.