§ Ms KeebleTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information was held by his Department on the state of flood defences prior to the current exercise by the Environment Agency to compile an asset register of flood defences. [42384]
§ Mr. MorleyThis Department holds a summary of the results of the survey of sea and tidal defences undertaken by the Environment Agency's predecessor body (the National Rivers Authority). With regard to inland flood defences, I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave on 8 May 1998,Official Report, column 516. A central national record of the state of repair of inland flood defences does not exist.
424W
§ Ms KeebleTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the Environment Agency began compiling its asset register of flood defences; and when it expects to finish it. [42381]
§ Mr. MorleyRegions of the Environment Agency (and its predecessor bodies) have held information on the condition of flood defence assets for many years. However the first nationally consistent survey of sea defence assets, covering 805 km of coastline, was undertaken in 1991. In April 1997 the Agency introduced the national Flood Defence Management System for the identification, justification and prioritisation of programmes of work; an asset register of defences is included in this computer system. The Agency expects to complete the major exercise of converting existing data, collecting up-to-date information and collating in to the system on some 35,000 km of "main" river flood defence assets by 2000.