§ David WrightTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will estimate the cost to the Environment Agency and local authorities of sandbag deployment in areas experiencing and prone to flooding in each of the last five years. [59271]
§ Mr. MorleyThe cost of sandbag deployment is highly variable and is not recorded separately from other costs of dealing with flooding emergencies. For example, in emergency situations, bags can be supplied full or empty. They may be filled manually on site or by bagging machines, if access to the problem area is easy. Alternatively, they may be filled at a central depot and transported by road or air, as for example occurred in the north-east during autumn 2000.
The information requested is therefore not available and cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate costs.