To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that households in high flood risk areas are proactively informed about the Flood Re scheme; and what responsibilities insurers, local authorities, and the Environment Agency have to ensure that eligible...

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that households in high flood risk areas are proactively informed about the Flood Re scheme; and what responsibilities insurers, local authorities, and the Environment Agency have to ensure that eligible...

I will gently say to Members that, as much as I love to have an audience for my Adjournment debate, we must recognise that I need to get through everything. I will give way quickly to my hon. Friend the Member for Bridgwater (Sir Ashley Fox) and then to the...

I will gently say to Members that, as much as I love to have an audience for my Adjournment debate, we must recognise that I need to get through everything. I will give way quickly to my hon. Friend the Member for Bridgwater (Sir Ashley Fox) and then to the...

Constituents of mine in Moorland and Fordgate live under the constant threat of flooding. This winter they have been very grateful to the frontline workers from the internal drainage board, the council and the Environment Agency for helping them out. Will my hon. Friend join me in paying tribute to...

Constituents of mine in Moorland and Fordgate live under the constant threat of flooding. This winter they have been very grateful to the frontline workers from the internal drainage board, the council and the Environment Agency for helping them out. Will my hon. Friend join me in paying tribute to...

I will happily pay tribute. In fact, that gives me a great opportunity to mention Ben Thornely, who is our local Environment Agency officer. It does not matter when I call him or whether it is an emergency or proactively trying to make our communities safer, he always takes the...

I will happily pay tribute. In fact, that gives me a great opportunity to mention Ben Thornely, who is our local Environment Agency officer. It does not matter when I call him or whether it is an emergency or proactively trying to make our communities safer, he always takes the...

I commend the hon. Lady; she is an assiduous MP and constituency worker, and we all recognise her efforts in this Chamber. Does she agree that the smaller numbers of people living in rural areas can sometimes skew the cost-benefit analysis? The Department must take each request based not on...

I commend the hon. Lady; she is an assiduous MP and constituency worker, and we all recognise her efforts in this Chamber. Does she agree that the smaller numbers of people living in rural areas can sometimes skew the cost-benefit analysis? The Department must take each request based not on...

The hon. Gentleman is at risk of stealing my sandwiches, but I will get there shortly. He is right, particularly when it comes to farmers; too often they are overlooked and they need support.

The issues that I hear about at my flooding summits are that local authorities are too often...

The hon. Gentleman is at risk of stealing my sandwiches, but I will get there shortly. He is right, particularly when it comes to farmers; too often they are overlooked and they need support.

The issues that I hear about at my flooding summits are that local authorities are too often...

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate. On the point of insurance, I have just come from chairing a meeting with Aviva—a great Norfolk insurer, the biggest insurer of houses in the country. It made the point to me that this is the tip of a major iceberg...

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate. On the point of insurance, I have just come from chairing a meeting with Aviva—a great Norfolk insurer, the biggest insurer of houses in the country. It made the point to me that this is the tip of a major iceberg...

I was not aware of just how drastic insurers see the situation, but it does not surprise me, based on what I see in my communities. I know that my hon. Friend has worked consistently on the issue of flooding, so I take him at his word that we need...

I was not aware of just how drastic insurers see the situation, but it does not surprise me, based on what I see in my communities. I know that my hon. Friend has worked consistently on the issue of flooding, so I take him at his word that we need...

The hon. Lady is making an excellent speech. Does she agree that in many cases this is about removing vegetation, but it might also be about removing debris, such as old shopping trollies and other things that could block a much-loved waterway and cause flooding and further accumulation of debris?...

The hon. Lady is making an excellent speech. Does she agree that in many cases this is about removing vegetation, but it might also be about removing debris, such as old shopping trollies and other things that could block a much-loved waterway and cause flooding and further accumulation of debris?...

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right—riparian ownership is a repeated issue in my community. It is also devastating to hear that he has things like shopping trollies in his waterways; we are very fortunate, in that we have so many local groups who go out and drag anything like that...

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right—riparian ownership is a repeated issue in my community. It is also devastating to hear that he has things like shopping trollies in his waterways; we are very fortunate, in that we have so many local groups who go out and drag anything like that...

I also commend my hon. Friend for raising this hugely important topic, and she is right to highlight the importance of local voices. Local voices know best where the flood risks are. They are most at risk and have real skin in the game, but they often feel that bodies...

I also commend my hon. Friend for raising this hugely important topic, and she is right to highlight the importance of local voices. Local voices know best where the flood risks are. They are most at risk and have real skin in the game, but they often feel that bodies...

I am in quite an unenviable position, in that only some of my constituency is covered by an internal drainage board, but that capital is absolutely fundamental. I am sure the Minister has heard my right hon. Friend’s intervention and will be able to reflect that in her speech—I was...

I am in quite an unenviable position, in that only some of my constituency is covered by an internal drainage board, but that capital is absolutely fundamental. I am sure the Minister has heard my right hon. Friend’s intervention and will be able to reflect that in her speech—I was...

The hon. Member is making an excellent speech and has taken a huge number of interventions, for which I thank her. When it comes to development, flood management strategies are not taking into account the run-off that additional development will cause; for example, the upper Severn catchment management scheme is...

The hon. Member is making an excellent speech and has taken a huge number of interventions, for which I thank her. When it comes to development, flood management strategies are not taking into account the run-off that additional development will cause; for example, the upper Severn catchment management scheme is...

Run-off has unfortunately been a real problem. I have only three towns in my constituency. They are not substantial, but Oakham in particular has seen a real issue with run-off, and that is all from new properties. It needs to be dealt with, and it speaks to the need for...

Run-off has unfortunately been a real problem. I have only three towns in my constituency. They are not substantial, but Oakham in particular has seen a real issue with run-off, and that is all from new properties. It needs to be dealt with, and it speaks to the need for...

It is a pleasure to respond to the debate. I thank the hon. Member for Rutland and Stamford (Alicia Kearns) for initiating it, and for giving me an opportunity to outline the steps that the Government are taking to reduce flood risk and strengthen resilience in rural communities.

We began 2026...

It is a pleasure to respond to the debate. I thank the hon. Member for Rutland and Stamford (Alicia Kearns) for initiating it, and for giving me an opportunity to outline the steps that the Government are taking to reduce flood risk and strengthen resilience in rural communities.

We began 2026...

I was grateful for the Minister’s visit to Somerset, but does she accept that when the Environment Agency announces that it is withdrawing from main river maintenance and will stop dredging the River Parrett, that is exactly the sort of action that contributes to the devastating flooding that she witnessed?

I was grateful for the Minister’s visit to Somerset, but does she accept that when the Environment Agency announces that it is withdrawing from main river maintenance and will stop dredging the River Parrett, that is exactly the sort of action that contributes to the devastating flooding that she witnessed?

I will not make this about Somerset, I promise, but we had a very good conversation with the Environment Agency, the internal drainage boards and members of the council during that visit. We talked about the use of temporary pumps when a threshold is met, and discussed whether the threshold...

I will not make this about Somerset, I promise, but we had a very good conversation with the Environment Agency, the internal drainage boards and members of the council during that visit. We talked about the use of temporary pumps when a threshold is met, and discussed whether the threshold...

The Minister has mentioned Aviva, one of Norfolk’s great companies and the biggest insurer of houses in the country. Has she seen its recent report, in which it calculates that about 4.78 million houses are at serious risk of flooding over the next 10 years? I congratulate he on securing...

The Minister has mentioned Aviva, one of Norfolk’s great companies and the biggest insurer of houses in the country. Has she seen its recent report, in which it calculates that about 4.78 million houses are at serious risk of flooding over the next 10 years? I congratulate he on securing...

The hon. Member prompts me to mention the biggest ever, greatest, most fantastic and largest investment in flood defences that this Government have just announced. On a more serious note, yes, Aviva did talk to me about that report, as he would imagine. We had a conversation about it and,...

The hon. Member prompts me to mention the biggest ever, greatest, most fantastic and largest investment in flood defences that this Government have just announced. On a more serious note, yes, Aviva did talk to me about that report, as he would imagine. We had a conversation about it and,...