Flooding (Cumbria)

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend. In relation to the bridges, there is a well established scheme, which, as I mentioned a moment ago, operated in 2007, in which the Department for Transport helps with costs that exceed 15 per cent. of the highways budgets of the affected authorities. That paid out a considerable sum in the wake of the 2007 floods. Precisely what will be required will depend on the nature of the damage. We will not know the extent of the damage until engineers have had a chance to inspect all the bridges. In many cases, the high water levels make that very difficult at the moment. I spoke to the Secretary of State for Transport on Saturday evening. Folk from the Highways Agency are working to support the local authorities in undertaking this work, and we will do everything that we can to help.