Climate Change Bill [HL]

I hope that I was not implying anything incorrect. I appreciate that it is virtually impossible to get insurance for flood damage to crops in the ground and for exotic diseases in our food animals. There is no provision for that; I have discussed it with insurers. One could not even offload this. That is why the consultation on cost and responsibility sharing is under way. The noble Lord, Lord Taylor, gave examples of what happened in 2001 when the Army commandeered a field, dug a trench and filled it with cattle that had come from all over the place. In those circumstances, that would clearly not be a burden on a particular landowner or farmer. There would have to be a different set of rules for it. That would be force majeure; it would require the national authorities to have some kind of arrangements and regulations to cover it. I do not think that there is a case to be made. My answer about insurance in relation to companies and businesses was quite legitimate, but it did not apply in any way to livestock or the fact that you cannot get insurance for crops in the ground. That is well known, but it is not well enough known in some quarters.