§ Dr. CableTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the insurance industry on the risk of future flooding; and if he will make a statement. [142809]
§ Mr. MorleyI refer the hon. Economic Secretary to the Treasury to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Ms Johnson) to the hon. Member for Clwyd, South (Mr. Jones) on 30 November 2000,Official Report, column 874W.
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§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research he has carried out to determine the area of land in(a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland which, being a river floodplain, is less than (i) 10 feet and (ii) 15 feet above the low water levels of the river. [142031]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 18 December 2000]: Flood defence is a devolved responsibility. No research has been undertaken to provide the information sought. However in 1995 MAFF commissioned the then Institute of Hydrology to provide estimates of potential flood risk areas in England and Wales. As part of this work, the Institute estimated the likely depths of flooding of land that would occur in a flood event with (a) an annual probability of approximately 1 per cent. and (b) an assumption that no flood defences were in place.
These estimated depths of flooding are based on theoretical models of flooding and on published information about ground levels. While they provide a general indication of the degree of risk it is important to note that they are based on the assumption that no defences are in place but, in fact, much of the land is defended.
Area of land (square kilometres) Built-up Non built-up Total Up to 2.9 metres (9.5 feet) depth 548 8,591 9,139 2.9 metres to 4.9 metres (9.5 to 16 feet) depth 46 655 701 Greater than 4.9 metres (16 feet) depth 17 826 843 No breakdown of these figures between England and Wales is available.