HC Deb 13 March 1969 vol 779 cc1559-60
Q5. Mr. Goodhart

asked the Prime Minister if he will transfer responsibility for flood relief and flood prevention work from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to the Ministry of Public Building and Works.

The Prime Minister

No, Sir. I do not consider that this would be appropriate.

Mr. Goodhart

Is the Prime Minister aware that over much of the country flooding is becoming an urban rather than a rural problem? Is he aware that as the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has been going slow both on flood relief and on flood research, it would be appropriate to transfer responsibility for relief work to a smaller Ministry where it might not be submerged?

The Prime Minister

I do not think all the hon. Member's hon. Friends or my hon. Friends who represent West Country constituencies would agree with his diagnosis that this is largely a matter of urban flooding. There has been some very serious rural flooding. For reasons I have explained in the House, I think it right that the Minister of Agriculture Fisheries and Food should have these duties while the Minister of Housing and Local Government—not the Minister of Public Building and Works—should have responsibility for local authority relief. I am sorry that the hon. Member thinks that relief work is going slow, because in the last two major disasters the Government contribution in relation to private contributions has been about three-to-one compared with one-to-one in floods when the Conservative Party was in office.

Mr. Ellis

Will my right hon. Friend certainly not do any such thing as is suggested in the Question because, so far as I know, not only is agriculture but defence, police, science and technology and other Ministeries getting in on the act, all except the Ministry of Public Building and Works, and they should be kept out of the act? Will he agree that what is wanted is that one Minister should be responsible over all these other Departments to prevent people who are making inquiries having to batter around among 16 different authorities?

The Prime Minister

My hon. Friend, in his understandable enthusiasm, missed out the Met. Office. He will recall that one of the things on which there have been complaints which we have been trying to put right is ensuring that when the Met. Office has a warning of weather which might lead to acute flooding it should be quickly passed on so that local authorities, conservancy boards and everyone else concerned may take action.

Sir D. Renton

Is the Prime Minister aware that what matters most now, whichever Ministry is in charge, is for the present Government to continue the good work of their predecessors by carrying on with flood relief schemes and allocating plenty of money for that purpose?

The Prime Minister

Yes, Sir; within the limitations of public expenditure, a subject which this side of the House takes seriously, we are doing that. The right hon. and learned Gentleman will have noticed that in relation to carrying on the work of our predecessors in relief we have trebled their ratio.