§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what provision has been made in the expenditure plans of(a) the Environment Agency and (b) her Department to cover the costs of flood management and defence arising out of the Government's plans for new development in (i) Ashford, (ii) the Thames Gateway, (iii) the M11 corridor and (iii) Milton Keynes and the south Midlands. [97637]
§ Margaret BeckettThe Department provides grant aid to the flood and coastal defence authorities—the Environment Agency (EA), local authorities and (in areas with special drainage needs) internal drainage boards to assist with their capital works to manage flood risk. However grant aid is not provided for defences to protect proposed new development, although it is possible for such development to benefit incidentally by defence schemes designed to protect existing assets. In such cases, authorities are expected to seek a commensurate contribution from the developer to the744W extent that he benefits from the public investment. No specific provision for new development has been made therefore, either by the EA or Defra. It should be noted that many of these developments, for example the Thames Gateway, will be defended to a high standard by existing defences which would anyway be subject to a renewal programme.