Flooding

Oral Answers to Questions — Health – in the House of Commons at 4:31 pm on 24 July 2007.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Hilary Benn Hilary Benn The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 4:31, 24 July 2007

With permission, Mr. Speaker, I would like to make a brief further statement to update the House on the serious flooding that is affecting central and southern England. I apologise to those on the Opposition Front Benches for the short time that they have had the statement in advance, but as I am sure Members will appreciate, the situation is changing rather fast.

Cobra met yesterday evening and again first thing this morning. The most serious issue that we have been facing is the potential flooding of the Walham switching station, which would result in power cuts to hundreds of thousands of people and the potential further loss of pumped water supplies. I am pleased to tell the House that this has so far been avoided, thanks to the heroic efforts of the Environment Agency, armed forces, fire service and others who built the temporary defence around the site on Sunday and who have been working to pump water out since.

Although the Environment Agency advises that the River Severn has now peaked, the weather outlook remains unsettled. This includes the possibility of further heavy rain in the flood-affected areas in the days ahead. Those on the site will continue to do all that can be done to protect Walham, and we have been making contingency arrangements for continuity of essential services and supplies, should the need arise.

I am also able to report that the Castlemeads electricity substation has now been brought back into operation, so restoring power to more than 48,000 properties in Gloucestershire. There remain 223 properties in Tewkesbury without power, and it is hoped to have them reconnected later this afternoon. There are also 134 properties in Gloucester and three in Cheltenham which are without power, I am advised.

However, this emergency is still not over and the River Thames continues to cause concern. There was further flooding in Abingdon last night, but no additional significant flooding in the rest of Oxfordshire is now expected. There will, however, be peak flows during the next 24 to 36 hours further down the river, and flooding in Henley, Reading and other riverside properties to Marlow and Windsor may be unavoidable. The Environment Agency is continuing to make efforts to reduce potential flood damage and an evacuation centre is being prepared in Reading. The Jubilee river has protected several hundred properties in Maidenhead.

A total of 140,000 properties remain without mains water following the flooding of the Mythe water treatment works at Tewkesbury. Distribution of water is now the priority. Since yesterday, Severn Trent has deployed about 500 bowsers, and the company says that that will rise to 900 by tomorrow morning. Eighty tankers are available to keep those bowsers and static tanks topped up, and a further 20 tankers are being organised under mutual aid agreements. Three million litres of bottled water a day are being made available, and the Army is helping with distribution. Priority is being given to hospitals and vulnerable groups. Advice is being issued to householders on how to cope with the loss of mains water supply. Severn Trent does not expect full water supply to be restored for some days. However, it hopes to gain access to the Mythe works today to assess the situation and to make a start on putting a flood barrier around the works to enable water to be pumped out. That should allow work to start on restoring the plant as soon as possible.

I am only too aware, as are all Members of the House, of the very considerable human distress that many people are experiencing, with homes and businesses ruined. I want to pay tribute to the extraordinary community effort as people are helping their neighbours. The Minister for Local Government, my hon. Friend John Healey, visited Gloucester and Tewkesbury today, and the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend Jonathan Shaw was in Reading this morning.

I informed the House yesterday that the revised Bellwin rules will assist local authorities in the areas affected to cover the costs of dealing with the flooding and its immediate aftermath. I can today tell the House that the Government will supplement the existing £14 million flood recovery grant fund with up to a further £10 million, which will be made available to affected local authorities on the same basis.

Finally, I will be holding a briefing meeting for Members of Parliament of constituencies affected in the Moses Room at 5.30 pm today. Officials from the Environment Agency, civil contingencies unit and other departments will be there to provide further details of what is being done, to answer questions, and to pick up particular issues that I know Members will wish to raise. I hope that this will be helpful.

Photo of Peter Ainsworth Peter Ainsworth Shadow Secretary of State for Environment Food & Rural Affairs, Environment, Food & Rural Affairs

I thank the Secretary of State for his statement and welcome the increase in the flood recovery grant fund—although in the greater scheme of things, it does not look like it will go very far.

The whole House will be very relieved to hear about the better situation at Walham, and I know that the Secretary of State will wish to keep us informed as matters progress on that front. I thank him for the way in which he has not only kept the House informed of events so far but gone out of his way to keep in touch with hon. Members whose constituencies have been badly affected by these events.

Once again, our first thoughts are with the thousands of people whose lives remain on hold as a result of these terrible floods, and with the emergency services and local authorities who are continuing the struggle to contain the problem and to mitigate its impact on local communities. I am pleased to report to the Secretary of State that experience and feedback from our own Conservative-controlled local authorities is that the relationship with the Government and their agencies on the ground, in dealing with the immediate crisis, is working pretty well. I also pay tribute to the local media in the affected areas, particularly local radio stations, which have become a vital source of information and advice.

As the Secretary of State said, the immediate crisis is by no means over, as the surge in the Thames heads eastwards into Berkshire, threatening further destruction, and many thousands of people in Gloucestershire remain without access to fresh mains drinking water. My hon. Friend Mr. Robertson advises me that there have been problems with the delivery of bowsers to people without mains water. Is the Secretary of State satisfied that that situation is now properly managed? My hon. Friend also tells me that food supplies in the town are running low, as it remains cut off from the surrounding road and rail network. Are there emergency plans in place to deal with food shortages if they start occurring?

It is becoming increasingly clear, I am afraid, that last year's £14 million cut to the Environment Agency's maintenance budget, together with a general failure to maintain watercourses, may have played a part in increasing the risk of flooding in the latest floods and in the floods in the north last month. Can the Secretary of State give an assurance that that issue will be addressed by the independent inquiry? These events have posed serious questions about the vulnerability of our public infrastructure. Will he ensure that the inquiry also looks at the siting and resilience of key water and electricity installations? One lesson is already clear: it is folly to build water and power plants in places where they can be taken out by floods.

The devastating impact on farmland, and the knock-on consequences for food prices, is becoming clear. I strongly endorse the suggestion made yesterday by my hon. Friend Bill Wiggin that the floods make it all the more essential to speed up payments from the Rural Payments Agency. Given the increased risk of extreme weather events, it is essential that our systems and structures are fit for purpose to meet the challenge. Will the Secretary of State ensure that in the next review of water prices, Ofwat takes proper account of the need for water companies to upgrade the physical capacity of their networks? Of course nobody wants to pay higher bills, but recent events have dramatically illustrated the huge costs to the wider community of underfunding investment in water infrastructure.

On costs, has the Secretary of State applied yet to the European Union solidarity fund for assistance? Will he undertake an urgent assessment of the likely total cost to public funds of repairing or replacing damaged infrastructure, such as bridges, roads, and railway assets, and buildings, such as schools and hospitals? Will he also resolve the uncertainty as to how that work is going to be paid for? Will he clarify the maximum amount that an individual council can apply for under the Bellwin scheme?

As I said yesterday, we welcome the announcement of an independent lessons-learned review, rather than the originally planned review that was to be conducted by the Cabinet Office. However, is the Secretary of State aware that a review of exactly the same name was carried out after the floods in 2000, and that it reported in March 2001? In the light of today's crisis, is it not fair to ask whether lessons from that review were actually learned? In fact, will the Secretary of State make an early statement on how many of the various recommendations from previous lessons-learned inquiries have been implemented? So far, we have identified at least 25 different reports published since 2000 by public authorities, Departments and Select Committees, all of which have made recommendations and issued warnings about our country's readiness for extreme floods.

Once the floods are finally over, and the media interest has moved on, local communities will be left with the lonely and miserable task of clearing up, and people will be left trying to piece together a semblance of normal life. It is likely that many will effectively remain homeless for months. Will the Secretary of State consider supporting an initiative to put those who are now in emergency accommodation in touch with others who are generously offering to house them? Above all, local councils and people with flooded homes are worried that, with the holiday season approaching, they will be left to cope with the aftermath on their own and with inadequate resources. What measures is the Secretary of State taking to ensure that there is no let-up in support for the flood-stricken areas in the coming months?

Photo of Hilary Benn Hilary Benn The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his welcome of the additional funding, which is of course in addition to finance that will be made available under the Bellwin scheme. There is no maximum to the Bellwin scheme; once a local authority goes above the threshold, 100 per cent. of the costs of dealing with the immediate aftermath is made available for up to six months. I am also pleased to hear from him that in his experience, and that of other hon. and right hon. Members, the emergency co-ordination arrangements have worked pretty well on the ground. That reflects my experience, as I told the House yesterday, and it demonstrates the degree of planning that has gone into ensuring that those services work effectively when such events occur.

On the question of water bowsers, I spoke to Mr. Robertson about water distribution—last night, I think; a lot has been happening. We are keeping a close eye on the issue because I know from talking to the Gold Commander late yesterday evening that everyone on the ground is anxious that the promised number of bowsers materialise in the right places. That is the responsibility of the Severn Trent water company. We are continuing to follow that up, which is why the armed forces are helping with the distribution of water. I have already raised the question of food supplies in relation to Tewkesbury because I got a message earlier today from the hon. Gentleman, and we will have an opportunity shortly to follow that matter up with those responsible for the operations, in the briefing to which I have already alluded.

Mr. Ainsworth is absolutely right on the matter of public infrastructure, and we discussed that yesterday. Of course, one of the lessons is to look at appropriate siting and protection of infrastructure—for obvious reasons. Water treatment plants, such as Mythe, which was already lifted above the side of the river, have to be located next to rivers because that is where they draw their water from. It is evident that big bits of infrastructure and, in some cases, small pumps, might be taken out, but cannot therefore do their job. Those lessons need to be learned.

On farming and the impact of the flooding on many farmers, we are in contact with the National Farmers Union. I take the hon. Gentleman's point, which Bill Wiggin made yesterday about the Rural Payments Agency. We are keen to try to speed up the way in which the RPA works, but, as I said yesterday, the most important thing for me is to keep the promises that we have made and look to improve performance in the light of what has happened.

We need to consider longer-term costs. To apply to the EU solidarity fund, an assessment has to be made of the total costs of dealing with the emergency. They are not all evident yet.

On infrastructure, it will not yet be possible to know whether some bridges have been so badly damaged that they need extensive repairs or replacement. As I said yesterday, those decisions will have to be made in consultation with the relevant Department.

The hon. Member for East Surrey is right that there have been several reports and recommendations. Let me say a word about "Making space for water". We set up that programme in 2004 precisely because the Government realised that the complex co-ordination of the response to surface-water flooding and river flooding was a problem. The Government response was made in 2005. The coastal overview has already been announced and is going ahead. We aim to have policy decisions on the inland overview in place by 2009, but we wrote to all the stakeholders—the Environment Agency, water companies, local authorities, drainage boards, flood forums, the Association of British Insurers; all the bodies that have an interest in dealing with flooding and surface-water drainage—to say that we were considering giving the Environment Agency a strategic overview and asking for their views. Fifteen urban drainage pilots are already starting and the next step is to consider risk mapping. As I said yesterday, the interim results of the review will help inform that.

On the hon. Gentleman's last point about housing, I am sure that local councils have heard his comments—and what is doubtless being said in local areas—about people's willingness to provide accommodation to those who have been displaced. I will ensure that that is raised.

Photo of Laurence Robertson Laurence Robertson Shadow Minister (Northern Ireland)

I apologise for having to leave slightly early today.

I thank the Secretary of State and the Prime Minister for their tremendous efforts and for personally telephoning me to keep me in touch and hear my concerns. I also pay tribute to the people who saved Walham power station, which was crucial.

My hon. Friend Mr. Ainsworth mentioned the problems with bowsers. We do not have enough and I should like to mention the areas that are deprived of water. They are: Deerhurst, Apperley, Sandhurst, Hucclecote, Twyning, Dumbleton, Southam, Toddington, Oxenton, Great Witcombe, Brockworth and Snowshill—and, indeed, Northway, despite what the website says. That is a long list of villages in my area that do not have enough water. I am informed that there are large tankers at Ashchurch barracks, which could be used if a direction were given to the Army at the barracks. I understand that it is waiting for a decision. I would be grateful if the Secretary of State looked into that urgently.

I also hear reports that two premature babies were airlifted out of the area but died on the way to hospital as a result of the floods. I understand that another person is missing. Those are the tragic circumstances that we face in Tewkesbury. I therefore ask the Secretary of State to consider whether the recess could be delayed. I know that that will not be popular, but, given the circumstances, I ask the Prime Minister to consider whether a delay to the recess would be in order, or at the very least, the same access to Ministers as they have been good enough to make available so far.

G

Walton Cardiff, Tewkesbury

It is just not the lack of bowsers that is of concern there is the replenishment of those that are deployed, as once you have access to this resource to get to it & find it empty as a serious affect on Morale

Submitted by Graham McMillan

Photo of Hilary Benn Hilary Benn The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

On the bowsers, I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman can attend the briefing at 5.30 pm. If he cannot, will he please give me a list of all the locations so that I can take it with me to the meeting and relay it so that action can be taken?

Secondly, the whole House will very much regret what happened on Saturday morning when a pregnant woman in Tewkesbury requested medical assistance. When it became clear that the paramedics would not be able to reach her because of the floods, RAF search and rescue was called and a helicopter carrying an experienced paramedic was immediately diverted to the scene. The mother and the unborn babies were taken to Cheltenham general hospital, but sadly the babies did not survive.

On the hon. Gentleman's final point, I give him an absolute guarantee that Ministers will remain accessible even though the House has risen. I hope that the contact and the relationship that has been established—it is a practical relationship, to try to deal with the practical circumstances that all hon. Members representing constituencies affected are trying to deal with—will continue whether the House is sitting or not.

Photo of Christopher Huhne Christopher Huhne Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Environment, Food & Rural Affairs

Those of us on the Liberal Democrat Benches would like to join others both in expressing sympathy for those affected and in praising the emergency services. The staff who saved the operation of the Walham switching station are due for particular congratulation. It is also good news that an assessment of the Mythe works is under way. I understand the difficulties in doing this, but will the Secretary of State give an indication of the likely timescale for bringing Mythe back into operation, however tentative that assessment might be? Coming hot foot from his constituency, my hon. Friend Dr. Harris has just informed me that flooding seems to have started in Oxford. I wonder whether the Secretary of State was aware of that and whether he can say anything about the potential in that area, because he was clearly not anticipating any significant extra flood damage further down in Oxfordshire.

What arrangements will the Government now make to protect critical infrastructure, such as the national grid switching stations and water treatment plants in other areas, should we unfortunately face similarly enormous inundations over the rest of the summer? How many sites throughout the country are at risk of facing the same sort of problems as those that the Walham switching station and Mythe water treatment works have faced? Can he make a tentative first assessment? How many pumping stations are at risk of encountering the same kind of flooding and inoperability that might have occurred during recent events, and which certainly did occur in Hull? As the emergency enters its fifth day, can he assure us that the emergency services are receiving proper back-up from outside the counties affected, so that their no doubt exhausted staff can be given proper breaks and time for recuperation?

Yesterday the Secretary of State said in reply to me:

"On the strategic overview...the sensible course of action is to reflect on that in light of the review that will be undertaken".—[ Hansard, 23 July 2007; Vol. 463, c. 569.]

Do I understand from his answer to Mr. Ainsworth that preparations and the continuation of that policy will in fact continue, as he seemed to imply today? After all, the delays seem unjustified, given the 2004 consultation exercise to which the Secretary of State referred, "Making space for water". Is the Secretary of State aware that the Government of which he was a part at that time stated that the

"Extension of EA strategic role to other forms of flooding and coastal erosion—legislative and organisational considerations" would be complete by the end of 2006? That was in the timeline of the Government's response, in their March 2005 statement. DEFRA's report of March 2006 states:

"The existing legislation that governs urban drainage has resulted (unintentionally) in an over complex system with diverse responsible bodies".

Does he accept that the policy came about because of that and because

"responsibilities are unclear and at times conflicting"?

What happened to the Government's efforts to deal with the problem? Why did they fail to deliver? Was it because of the wholesale change in ministerial staff, which has meant that there has been no follow-through? Does the Secretary of State accept that moving every Minister—or, indeed, sacking Ministers—is no way to run a Department, as there is then no political or institutional memory from March 2005? What is the point of participation in a consultation exercise or a review if it leads to precisely nothing? What arrangements has the Secretary of State now put in place to ensure that when his Department says that it is going to do something, it actually does it?

Yesterday, the Secretary of State repeated his mantra that there had been no cut in the capital budget. However, there was a cut in the overall flood defence budget. Will he confirm that those cuts—

Photo of Sylvia Heal Sylvia Heal Deputy Speaker

Order. I wonder whether the hon. Gentleman could now bring his remarks to a conclusion. We really are in difficult circumstances with time today.

Photo of Christopher Huhne Christopher Huhne Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Environment, Food & Rural Affairs

Will the Secretary of State confirm that those cuts worsened the situation found by the National Audit Office when it reported that the Environment Agency had failed to meet its target of maintaining 63 per cent. of England's flood defences in target condition?

Photo of Hilary Benn Hilary Benn The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

On Mythe, Severn Trent Water says that a full restoration of services could take between seven and 14 days. It is difficult to say for sure, because that will depend on what it finds when the water is pumped out and it discovers how much damage has been done to the equipment. There has indeed been flooding in Oxford. As I said earlier, we are not anticipating further extensive flooding, but that really depends on exactly how the flow of water comes down the system.

I can tell the hon. Gentleman that an assessment of other critical infrastructure—down the course of the Thames, in particular—has been carried out, because Cobra asked about that. We have been advised that there is nothing that needs to be worried about, given the pulse of water that we have currently. There is a longer-term issue about infrastructure in general, to which I have already alluded. With great respect to the hon. Gentleman, however, it is not possible for me to answer his related question on whether I could identify any other infrastructure that might be at risk from further flooding and extreme weather in the next few weeks and months. If he will kindly tell me where it is going to rain, I might be able to answer the question. I can confirm that the emergency services are receiving mutual aid from other services, which has allowed staff who are very tired—the hon. Gentleman was right about that—to have a rest.

On the "Making space for water" strategy, I emphatically reject the charge that we have let it lie. I have already said—and I am sorry that the hon. Gentleman did not appear to be listening—that we have already made arrangements to put the coastal overview in place. We have been dealing with this since 2004, and we recognise that it is a problem. Building on what I said yesterday, I said today that we were getting on with it—the consultation has taken place—and that we will also draw on the lessons to be learned from the review that is now being undertaken.

If the hon. Gentleman is able to draw to my attention any flooding that has taken place because the flood defences failed at the level that they were meant to protect, I will undertake to go away and look into that. However, many of the flood defences were overtopped. The National Audit Office acknowledged the progress that the Environment Agency had made in trying to improve the maintenance of flood defences, and that is something that the agency will continue to work on.

Several hon. Members:

rose —

Photo of Sylvia Heal Sylvia Heal Deputy Speaker

Order. While recognising Members' concerns about what is happening in their constituencies, may I please ask them to limit themselves to one supplementary question? I hope that that will enable us to accommodate a greater number of contributions.

Photo of David Drew David Drew Labour, Stroud

I thank my right hon. Friend and all his ministerial colleagues for this statement and for treating this matter so seriously. I also pay tribute to all those who have performed so well in such trying circumstances over recent days. Will he consider the request from Gloucestershire county council for funding up front to meet the huge costs that are already being incurred? Will he also urgently look into the situation at Severn Trent? There is certainly misinformation about who is to have their mains water supply turned off, which is causing problems. It is also completely unacceptable to say that it will take up to 14 days to get people back on to mains water when there are other water suppliers in the area. Wessex Water and Bristol Water supply customers in my constituency, and I am sure that in this day and age it is possible, in an emergency, to tap into that water supply and get households, farms and businesses back on to some form of mains supply. It is catastrophic that people should be without water for 14 days.

Photo of Hilary Benn Hilary Benn The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

I am sure that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, who will be allocating the funding announced today according to need, will seek to do so as quickly as possible. Secondly, if there is any confusion about who has lost water supply, I will take the matter further if my hon. Friend provides the details. Thirdly, I share my hon. Friend's concern that Mythe should be brought back on line as quickly as possible—a point that I have already made to the Severn Trent company. I have also already said to the chief executive that if he needs any further assistance to make that happen, we will give it.

M

Why wasn't the Severn Trent works pumped out like the Walham power substation? Why did we have to wait for the flood water to reduce? As Severn Trent said at the weekend the treatment plant is not on the flood plain - so why is it taking so long just to get a technical assessment. Can we have more details of exactly what the technical issues are with the substation? Severn Trent seem very...

Submitted by Mark Poxon Continue reading

Photo of Adam Afriyie Adam Afriyie Shadow Minister (Science and Innovation)

My constituency is located further downstream and, unusually, the peak flows are expected in 48 to 72 hours in areas such as Datchet, Horton, Wraysbury and Old Windsor. The Jubilee river has protected Maidenhead, but channelled the water further down. Given that the Environment Agency has said that it needs £1 billion to deal with flood defences in the UK, and that it does not quite have that budget, I seek the Secretary of State's assurance that he will re-examine the vital lower Thames protection scheme.

Photo of Hilary Benn Hilary Benn The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The hon. Gentleman will be aware that the Environment Agency has a process through which the priority of schemes is determined, and that the formula is currently under review. The Jubilee river has done its work, but I acknowledge that it protects one part of the area rather than elsewhere. That shows how interrelated the movement of water is and that protecting one area can have a knock-on consequence further down the line. On the question of funding, the £1 billion a year was a sum that resulted from a foresight study looking ahead over the rest of the century. If my memory serves me correctly, I think that the case was that we should be working towards the £1 billion a year by 2024. The House will be aware that we will already have got to £800 million by 2010-11—13 years earlier.

Photo of Elliot Morley Elliot Morley Labour, Scunthorpe

I thank my right hon. Friend for keeping the House so well informed, and also for the money made available to north Lincolnshire, which has been used very wisely by North Lincolnshire council to help flood victims. Does he agree that it is not the case that reports are not being acted on? Going back to 1998, the Bye report led to improved contingency arrangements, and "Making space for water" brought about changes in planning and institutional change, and strengthened the role of the Environment Agency. There have been huge improvements over those years. Although the Government are involved through the public sector, it is important to recognise that there are private sector players, particularly in respect of infrastructure. I welcome what my right hon. Friend said about the inquiry and the need to look further into co-ordination and adaptation of the central infrastructure in flood risk areas.

Photo of Hilary Benn Hilary Benn The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

I am very grateful to my right hon. Friend for that contribution, particularly as over recent years he played such an important part in helping to implement the steps that he has mentioned. It is precisely because of the complex interrelationship, including with the private sector, that we are taking this work forward. Everyone has to play their part in dealing with the problem.

Photo of Ed Vaizey Ed Vaizey Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)

May I echo the comments about the importance of local media, particularly BBC Radio Oxford? Given that I spent Sunday afternoon filling sandbags in East Challow for use in Abingdon, will the Secretary of State look urgently into ensuring that sand and sandbags are in place in the towns most likely to be flooded in future?

Photo of Hilary Benn Hilary Benn The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

I happily give the hon. Gentleman that assurance. My hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment has already encountered that issue on his visits to affected areas, and we will certainly look further into it. It is one important lesson that can be learned. I echo what the hon. Gentleman said about local radio, which is often the best-informed source of advice and information about what is going on and what people should do.

Photo of Paddy Tipping Paddy Tipping Labour, Sherwood

In Nottinghamshire, much of the flooding was caused by localised torrential rainfall, which simply overran the surface water systems. The Secretary of State has already pointed out the diffuse responsibilities involved. May I press him to take early decisions about a lead agency and, in the review, to take account of new solutions such as sustainable urban drainage systems—SUDS—and the factors that hinder their implementation?

Photo of Hilary Benn Hilary Benn The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

I am very happy to give my hon. Friend assurances on both those points. Clearly, it is important that we should make progress as quickly as possible and that we should look at how, practically, those responsible are going to improve surface water drainage, given the experience that we have had.

Photo of Patrick Cormack Patrick Cormack Chair, Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, Chair, Northern Ireland Affairs Committee

Will the Secretary of State, whose conduct has been exemplary and who talked movingly about the human tragedy, discuss with the Chancellor the possibility of the Government launching a fund by putting £10 million down to help private individuals? Others could then add to that. It might be a good idea if those in the House had the opportunity to contribute.

Photo of Hilary Benn Hilary Benn The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point about what further assistance can be given to individuals. As the House may be aware, the Red Cross has issued an appeal today, which covers all the victims of the flooding—victims both of the recent events and of what happened in Yorkshire and Humberside and elsewhere. I am sure that the public will want to contribute generously to that. There is also the funding that the Government have made available previously, what I have announced today, and the funding available under the Bellwin rules.

Photo of Clive Betts Clive Betts Labour, Sheffield, Attercliffe

Although I appreciate that my right hon. Friend's immediate thoughts are with the crisis in the south and in the midlands, does he accept that in the longer term he and his colleagues should look into trying to stop potential lasting damage to local economies? A welcome help fund for small businesses has been set up by Yorkshire Forward, but the chief executive of the chamber of commerce has already said that it has identified quite a lot of small firms that, although insured, are often not insured to replace damaged equipment with brand-new equipment, and are certainly not insured for loss of business. There is a risk to hundreds or even thousands of jobs in the Sheffield area. That could also damage the complicated supply chain in the engineering industry. I wonder whether the Government could eventually give some thought and attention to what they can do to help.

Photo of Hilary Benn Hilary Benn The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

I know that my hon. Friend is meeting the Minister for Local Government to discuss that very issue tomorrow. He draws attention to one of the consequences of the flooding that has hit Sheffield particularly badly, including its industrial base. We will try to draw on those lessons and to talk to the insurance industry about the points that he has raised.

Photo of Evan Harris Evan Harris Shadow Minister, Innovation, Universities and Skills

When I left Oxford at 3 o'clock, the water was rising on the Botley road, in the Osney island area, and on roads off the Botley road, which the Minister for the Environment visited on Sunday; we were grateful for that visit. I hope that the Secretary of State is right, and that there will not be additional significant flooding. It is not clear how many properties will be affected. However, those properties have been flooded in 2000, 2003 and again this year. There are no longer floods every 40 years or every 20 years; instead there have been three floods in seven years. Can he see his way to giving an assurance that the Environment Agency budget will be front-loaded over the period that he envisages to give urgent protection to frequently flooded areas, because they will need it?

Photo of Hilary Benn Hilary Benn The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

As I said to the House yesterday, I will be looking at how we phase the increase to the £800 million as part of the comprehensive spending review announcement. I do not know, in the case of the particular properties to which the hon. Gentleman refers, whether the Environment Agency has yet done any work on what a scheme may look like. I undertake to make inquiries about that, as he has raised it with me.

Photo of Andrew Robathan Andrew Robathan Opposition Deputy Chief Whip (Commons)

Can the Secretary of State answer the question that I put to him yesterday? The number of members of the armed forces has been cut because of the policies of the Prime Minister in a previous life, as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Barracks that could be used as operation-mounting bases to assist the civil authorities have been sold off. Can the Secretary of State tell me how many troops are available to Cobra to deploy to assist in emergencies such as this? Have any been taken off leave? Have any been taken off training for Iraq and Afghanistan, which are very dangerous places, for which they need training?

Photo of Hilary Benn Hilary Benn The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

As I indicated to the hon. Gentleman yesterday, I will answer his question—but I hope that he will recognise and understand that, with respect, the most important priority in the last 24 hours has not been to provide people with the details of precisely where the troops came from. The most important priority has been to ensure that the resources are available both for the extraordinary operation at Walham and elsewhere. As I indicated yesterday, on a number of occasions, I have asked those responsible for responding to the emergency whether they have the resources that they need. I have been assured that that is the case. I hope that, given the hon. Gentleman's interest in the armed forces, which is long lasting and deeply felt, he will join me in praising the extraordinary efforts of the armed forces and all the other people who have been working so hard in this emergency.

Photo of Richard Taylor Richard Taylor Independent, Wyre Forest

I have today been informed that Environment Agency staff are being moved from vital duties elsewhere to guard the flood defences at Bewdley from theft. Will the Secretary of State consider introducing swingeing penalties for such attempted theft, and penalties for scrap dealers who are tempted to trade in those highly recognisable metal objects?

Photo of Hilary Benn Hilary Benn The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

I am very concerned to hear that in the current circumstances some individuals might think that it is sensible to try to steal flood defences in place for the protection of the public. I undertake to raise that in the meeting at half past 5—and if the hon. Gentleman is able to join us, he can raise it himself.

Photo of Philip Hollobone Philip Hollobone Conservative, Kettering

When these events are over, will it not be time to look again at creating an upstream water grid to take water across watersheds? That would be useful both in times of drought, to secure water supplies, and in times of heavy rainfall, to relieve floods downstream.

Photo of Hilary Benn Hilary Benn The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

I understand that that has been looked into in the past. There are some obvious practical difficulties, including the considerable cost of shifting water from parts of the country where there is an excess of it—at present, that would be large parts of the country, but I am thinking in particular of the north and the Kielder dam—to areas which experience greater water stress. The immediate priority is to ensure that the resilience of the existing pumping supply system can be safeguarded in the face of events such as those we currently face.

Photo of Geoffrey Clifton-Brown Geoffrey Clifton-Brown Shadow Secretary of State for International Development

My parliamentary neighbours in Gloucestershire have raised several points, but many hundreds of homes in my constituency have been flooded, spread over a wide area, which poses problems in itself. May I first pay tribute to the emergency services, who worked tirelessly throughout Friday night? I also wish to say that there has been great community spirit in Gloucestershire: everyone I met yesterday was cheerful, and helpful to their neighbours.

I have three requests. First, will the Secretary of State confirm that when the Bellwin scheme arrangements kick in, Gloucestershire will qualify without limit for all the qualifying items? Secondly, will he make money available up front to Gloucestershire county council, as it has already incurred huge costs? Thirdly, will he assure us that the Environment Agency will have sufficient funds to carry out its maintenance responsibilities for watercourses better? Some flooding has been caused by poor maintenance of watercourses, and the EA says it does not have enough money to improve maintenance.

The issue of investment by water companies has not been raised. Before the recent flooding, they told me that their capital investment was rationed because the Government had set a formula specifying how much of their profits they could invest. Will the Secretary of State look again at that?

Photo of Hilary Benn Hilary Benn The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

On the last point, what we tell the companies is how much they must invest—and if they wish to invest more, that is up to them. On the Bellwin rules, funding is available for purposes that are clearly set out under long-established arrangements, and payments are made as and when claims are brought forward. On the Environment Agency and the maintenance of flood defences, over the past decade we have increased the money available for that from £300 million to £600 million, and over the next few years we will further increase it to £800 million. The agency has responsibility for that and expertise in it, so it is right that it should take decisions on how much to allocate to particular projects, and on ensuring that the flood defences that are in place are adequately maintained.

Photo of John Bercow John Bercow Conservative, Buckingham

The right hon. Gentleman's characteristically detailed and courteous statement will be of great interest to my constituents, 55 of whom were evacuated from their homes to the Radcliffe centre in Church street, Buckingham in the early hours of Saturday morning.

As many Members have testified, there was a serious incidence of flooding as long ago as 1998. It impacted significantly on my constituency, and it caused the Environment Agency to commission a survey from W.S. Atkins that produced many recommendations. I ask the right hon. Gentleman—in a genuine spirit of inquiry, as I did not hear him give an answer to my hon. Friend Mr. Ainsworth—how many of those recommendations have been fully implemented nine years later.

Photo of Hilary Benn Hilary Benn The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

I have not yet read that report, but as the hon. Gentleman has raised it I undertake to go away and have a look at it, and do my best to answer the question. I thank him for what he said about the efforts that have been made to help his constituents who have been affected.