Written question asked by Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Henley (Conservative) on Wednesday, 10 November 2010.

Flooding

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether collaborative agreements between the Environment Agency (EA) and non-commercial researchers on the use of flood plain data relating to flooding in Cumbria will be drawn up to exclude EA restrictions on the use of modelling methods and software.

Answer: Under the National Infrastructure Plan, published by Her Majesty’s Treasury last month, the Government will encourage greater investment in flood resilience by making information on levels of flood risk more available and accessible to all. Non-commercial interests researching floodplain mapping are not restricted from using Environment Agency-owned modelling inputs or outputs. Modelling that the Environment Agency does not own, or does not have the appropriate third-party intellectual property rights to share, may be restricted. The Environment Agency does not own floodplain mapping software—it is licensed from software companies and these licences do not allow it to be passed to others.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 3398; 722 c81WA
Session: 2010-12
Subjects: Disclosure of information Software Cumbria Environment Agency Floods Maps Research
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk