HC Deb 27 February 2002 vol 380 cc1351-2W
Miss McIntosh

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations she has received on her proposals to improve flood defences. [37631]

Mr. Morley

The Environment Agency has asked the Government to recognise and commit to meeting the need for a significant further increase in funding on a planned basis to (a) improve flood warnings and (b) maintain and improve the overall standard and extent of flood defence. This will be considered through the Spending Review 2002 process. Current plans are for this Department's spending on flood and coastal defences for all operating authorities to increase from last year's outturn of £66 million to £114 million in 2003–04.

Representations have also been received about the methodology governing the economic appraisal of flood defence works. The current methodology will be subject to review in the light of such initiatives as on-going DEFRA research into the impact of flooding on people, the Institution of Civil Engineers' report entitled "Learning to Live with Rivers" and the agency's report on the appraisal of flood defence works which I received recently. This report was undertaken following the Lessons Learned report on the autumn 2000 floods which outlined the agency's concerns about the process for making investment decisions. We are consulting more widely on its conclusions.

Mr. Sayeed

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will publish the list of the 100 communities referred to on 21 December 2001 by the Chairman of the Environment Agency as not being cost effective to provide with protection against flooding; what action she has taken to communicate this information to the residents, local authorities and other bodies in those communities; and what steps her Department has taken since 21 December 2001 to urge the Environment Agency to provide flood defence schemes to those communities. [34685]

Mr. Morley

This Department has policy responsibility for flood management in England and provides grants for capital works that meet economic, technical and environmental criteria and achieve an appropriate priority score. Operational responsibility rests with the Environment Agency, local authorities and internal drainage boards who decide which works to promote and their timing. I have encouraged those operating authorities to consider action for areas of the country at highest risk from flooding and coastal erosion. Both DEFRA and the operating authorities have a responsibility to all taxpayers to ensure that value for money is obtained when funding works.

The Environment Agency in its Lessons Learned report following the autumn 2000 floods undertook to use all available information to catalogue the flooding, the local causes and how solutions or responsibility for action can be successfully attributed for the 8,554 properties that were flooded at 795 locations in England.

The agency has now assessed the locations. For many work has been included in maintenance or capital programmes resulting in the repair and improvement of damaged defences. Initially the agency identified some 700 properties (in 100 locations) where it was proving difficult to provide an early practical solution; these were primarily sites where there was flooding of less than 10 properties.

Investigations continue to identify scope for providing flood protection to the remaining properties through flood warnings, communal defences or individual property protection.