HC Deb 22 January 2003 vol 398 cc340-1W
Mr. Lidington

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to review High Level Target 9 following the Environment Agency's report to her Department. [89751]

Margaret Beckett

All High Level Targets, including Target 9, are due to be reviewed this year.

Mr. Liddell-Grainger

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total budget for the Environment Agency(a) was in 2001–02 and (b) is in 2002–03.[91508]

Mr. Meacher

The total expenditure budget for the Environment Agency in(a) 2001–02 was £662.3 million and (b) 2002–03 was £758.2 million.

Mrs. Anne Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action the Government are taking to ensure that the Environment Agency website can cope with the volume of traffic in emergencies. [91394]

Mr. Morley

The website is not the primary means of providing flood warning. The main flood warning systems operate effectively, including the Agency's Floodline telephone service, Automatic Voice Warning systems, news media information and direct manual warnings in flood warned areas.

However, the Environment Agency has recognised the problems that occurred on its website during the new year floods. It has acted to improve the reliability of its service by installing a new high volume service to provide flood warning information for up to 100,000 visitors an hour—some 20 times more than the volume of visitors experienced during the peak of the new year floods.

In addition, the Agency has restructured its website so that the flood warning facility will be unaffected by other non-flood warning users, and updated the design and search facility to provide a more user-friendly service.