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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Flood Resilience Task Force is taking to help protect communities in Loughborough constituency from flood damage.

To ensure that communities are better protected from flooding, Defra has established a ministerially led cross-Governmental Flood Resilience Taskforce, with the first meeting taking place in September. The Flood Resilience Taskforce will ensure that preparedness and resilience to flooding is reviewed regularly before the start of the main flood season; and that it is continuously improved to ensure optimum protection to people, homes and businesses.

In advance of the winter flood season, the Environment Agency has been directed to carry out maintenance of its flood defence assets across Loughborough. This includes monthly operational checks of structures including outfalls / control gates, weekly operational checks and clearance of debris screens. A structural survey of the flood wall at Quorn is also scheduled for this autumn.