Energy and Climate Change and Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

May I pursue the point about warnings of surface water flooding? It was clear even two and half years ago in Gloucester that predictive abilities provided by Met Office technology would have allowed more precise predictions of intense rainfall—if only a few hours beforehand—and it is clear now that that predictive capacity has become even more precise in the intervening years. Even a few hours' warning for householders of that level of flooding and heavy rainfall would have allowed an awful lot of property to be saved.