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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what enforcement powers he has over the Environment Agency if they fail to remove (a) a tree under the Wey Bridge and (b) other waterway obstructions.

The Environment Agency (EA) is accountable to Parliament via the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). As the principal sponsor of the EA, Defra works closely with EA officials at every level to provide constructive challenge and support on EA performance and delivery. Defra ministers regularly meet with the EA leadership to discuss the EA’s performance and delivery of departmental priorities.

The EA has powers to undertake maintenance on main rivers. Where the EA undertakes watercourse maintenance to reduce flood risk, it focuses its efforts and resources on those areas where the consequences of flooding for communities, businesses, property and infrastructure are greatest.

The EA measures, and reports on, the percentage of assets that are at target condition. Where assets are not at required condition, this identifies that work is needed. It does not present a risk of failure, or compromise performance in a flood, because mitigation measures are put in place such as more frequent inspections by the EA.