Energy and Climate Change and Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The plan is indeed that it should be available before Christmas. We have already had the interim report, but we await with interest Anna Walker's final report. The hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron) spoke movingly about the impact of the flooding in his constituency. His expression of sympathy for PC Barker's family will be widely supported. He knows only too well that predicting river flooding is one thing but that surface water flooding is much more difficult to predict, because we need to know the precise topography, exactly how much rain is going to fall on it, and the drainage capacity of the area. That is precisely why—I shall come back to this—the Flood and Water Management Bill will give local authorities the lead responsibility.