§ Mr. du Cannasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will now make a further statement about the floods of last autumn and winter, and about future arrangements for dealing with floods.
§ Mr. BrookeThe Government have been reviewing the effects of the floods of last autumn and winter, and various proposals arising therefrom.
What proved for many areas to be the wettest autumn of the century led to widespread flooding and much distress. In the special circumstances, the Government undertook to supplement to whatever extent was necessary the locally administered relief funds which were started.
In the result, assessed claims on the several funds will exceed £1 million. Towards this, voluntary contributions provided some £230,000, and the Exchequer will find the balance.
While the Government thought it right on this exceptional occasion to provide Exchequer assistance, it must not be assumed that this will be done whenever future flooding occurs. Public authorities will press on with preventive measures, within the available resources, although it is impossible to guarantee that there will never be flooding anywhere in future. Everyone who may have property at risk should in ordinary prudence take his own precautions and should consider the importance of insuring.
The standard forms of householders' policies covering the contents of private dwellings already include the risk of flood, and fire policies also can be extended to include this risk; but cover has not readily been granted in areas subject to recurrent flooding. In the light of demand created by recent experience, insurance companies and Lloyd's have assured the Government that they will in future be prepared, on request, to provide cover against flood on modest terms for the contents of all dwellings, irrespective of their situation, so long as they are permanently occupied—normally as an extension of a fire or householder's policy. In addition, insurers will make flood cover more generally available than hitherto 140W in the case of buildings of permanently occupied dwellings and the buildings and contents of premises of small traders where business is carried on throughout the year. I understand that full publicity will be given to these wider facilities, and it is in the interests of everyone to avail themselves of them.