Flooding

I will say a little about climate change later in my remarks, but the hon. Lady has certainly mad...

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I will not give way. I have given way on a number of occasions, and I want to make progress.

Will the hon. Lady give way?

No, I want to make a little progress.

The budget has remained the same since then, meaning ...

I thank the hon. Lady for giving way on that point. Match funding is important in this. Last nigh...

I hope that if the Minister, whose parliamentary answer I am quoting from, has updated figures, h...

indicated assent .

The reductions to flood defence spending were not just numbers on a spreadsheet, but actual plann...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

No, not at this time. [Interruption.] I have given way relatively generously, so I do not think I...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

If my hon. Friend will forgive me, I would like to conclude my remarks .

I hope that the Go...

I thank the hon. Member for Garston and Halewood (Maria Eagle) for sending her best wishes to my ...

Is not part of the problem with the Labour party’s argument that its Members talk in generalisati...

My hon. Friend makes a very reasonable case. Indeed, we will be announcing a number of schemes th...

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Will the hon. Gentleman bear with me for a few moments? I would like to set out the case, and the...

I am glad that the Secretary of State calls me the hon. Gentleman rather than the hon. Lady, as h...

I have upgraded my glasses since then. However, I have always regarded the hon. Gentleman as a pa...

Will the Secretary of State give way?

Will the Secretary of State give way?

No, the hon. Member for Vale of Clwyd (Chris Ruane) has first dibs, and then I will give way agai...

I thank the right hon. Gentleman. What role does he think that climate change has played in the r...

I will come to that point towards the end of my speech. If the hon. Gentleman is not happy with m...

The Secretary of State talked about the long-term task of clearing up after the floods. Is he abl...

We have put in some additional money ready for those precise circumstances. One of our concerns w...

Will the Government complete a proper assessment of the economic impact of the flooding as well a...

The right hon. Gentleman is right. I went to look at the possibilities there and was well and tru...

The Secretary of State has mentioned the work of the agencies. May I put it on the record that, s...

I am very grateful to my hon. Friend, who makes some reasonable points and shows what can be done...

Will my right hon. Friend also welcome the £11.7 million that has been spent on the upper River M...

My hon. Friend makes a reasonable point.

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It would seem mean not to let my hon. Friend in.

I thank my right hon. Friend for giving way. Will he use his good offices to persuade the Environ...

I will raise that issue with the Environment Agency, which I found very responsive to individual ...

Will the Secretary of State give way?

I think not. I need to make some progress. I will give way later to the hon. Gentleman, who no do...

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. The contracts are now out, and we start the work on the...

My hon. Friend is right. We have an enormous pumping capacity, but we need to be cautious in how ...

Will the Secretary of State give way?

I will, but I hope that the House will forgive me if I then make some progress.

Does the Secretary of State know whether any regulations are being used to stop dredging at this ...

Again, if the hon. Lady would be kind enough to give me precise details of that matter, I will ce...

Will the Secretary of State give way?

I want to make a little progress if that is convenient. I will give way, but I first want to make...

Will my right hon. Friend give way?

I did say that I would not give way, but I can never resist my hon. Friend’s charm.

My right hon. Friend’s announcement is really welcome news, as homes in Great Yarmouth and Suffol...

As my hon. Friend almost certainly knows, applications for the first phase of severe weather paym...

Given everything that the Secretary of State has said about the emotion and trauma that is caused...

The hon. Lady only has to look around to see how effective the new schemes have been. We have con...

Will the Secretary of State give way?

Oh no, I don’t think so—not for a while.

Councils have the discretion to extend the relief....

Will the Secretary of State give way?

In a moment.

The repair and renewal grant will top up any money that is received from insur...

Will the Secretary of State give way?

I will in a moment.

Businesses will have extra time to pay other business taxes that they o...

The Secretary of State will know from his visit to my constituency that a number of businesses th...

Certainly part of the amount that I have just announced with regard to businesses will be, althou...

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I will give way to the hon. Gentleman.

I am grateful to the Secretary of State for giving way. I indicated that I might mention firefigh...

The hon. Gentleman must forgive me because I have had this conversation with him before. We were ...

We have all seen what happened in the flood-risk areas, and my sympathy goes to everyone involved...

The hon. Gentleman will remember, as I do, that tidal surge before Christmas, which was one of th...

The Secretary of State mentions tidal surges, which are exactly what affected the River Stour and...

I am afraid I did not quite catch the last couple of words. What assurance was my hon. Friend see...

The River Stour overflowed when it hit the incoming tide, flooding mobile home parks. My right ho...

Of course. Absolutely. A mobile home is entitled to the same protection as a dwelling that has fo...

On the issue of building on floodplains, may I bring to the attention of the Secretary of State t...

I will come on to the question of floodplains in a few moments, but the matter is on my radar. My...

The Secretary of State talks about development being directed away from flood-risk areas unless i...

I vividly remember the visit to my hon. Friend’s constituency in 2007. There is rarely a time whe...

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If the hon. Ladies will bear with me, I want to talk about the challenge of climate change and th...

If the Government really understand the potential impacts of climate change and extreme weather, ...

The hon. Lady is pointing to various documents and looking for omissions, but the facts speak for...

Will the Secretary of State give way?

As the floodwaters recede and the dark skies clear, there will be lessons to be learnt about the ...

Will the Secretary of State give way?

However, the first and the primary role of Governments is the defence of the realm. This Governme...

Will the Secretary of State give way?

Order. Members must allow the Secretary of State to conclude his speech.

I am most grateful for your protection, Madam Deputy Speaker. As I was saying, this Government wi...

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Order. As the House will be aware, a great many Members wish to speak, and there is a limited amo...

If we are able to answer one question, it will give us the key to what I believe are the long-ter...

I am sorry, but I think that the hon. Gentleman is completely mistaken. The River Parrett is tida...

If the hon. Gentleman will bear with me, on the characteristics of the Severn we know that on bot...

I am pleased to be able to make a brief speech in this important debate. My constituency did not ...

I spank my hon. Friend—[ Laughter. ] I mean, I thank my hon. Friend for giving way. I am going re...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his intervention. I have to say that there is very little cha...

I recognise many of the issues that my hon. Friend from down the River Severn is raising. I do be...

I agree with my hon. Friend and I am grateful to him for that intervention. However, the councils...

I just want to confirm that the flooding maps published by the Environment Agency before Christma...

I am grateful to the Minister for that and I will certainly take it up with the Environment Agenc...

indicated assent .

My right hon. Friend is nodding. I look forward to receiving more details on that. That is good n...

It is my personal belief that global warming and climate change are occurring, that they had an e...

Like my hon. Friend, I represent a constituency that is at great risk of flooding. I know the hum...

I will come on to that in a moment when I describe the visits that I have made to my constituents...

My hon. Friend will have heard the Prime Minister say that money was no object, but when it came ...

I agree. The Prime Minister came to a constituency in west Wales to announce the UK––or rather En...

What matter?

On the matter of improving flood defences. Pitt recommends not building on flood plains, and in 2...

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No, I will not give way. I have had meetings with Alun Davies, the Welsh Minister with responsibi...

I am grateful for the opportunity to highlight the issues that we on the Isle of Wight have exper...

I very much thank my hon. Friend for giving way. There has been a problem in my constituency in p...

It is difficult to stop—in fact, it is impossible. Occasionally, the Army was on the Isle of Wigh...

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Before I call the next speaker, I must explain to the House that my arithmetic is not wrong, but ...

It is right to begin with the human cost of flooding. My constituency is no stranger to flooding,...

Order. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman did not mean to accuse a Government Minister of misleadi...

Well, he gave figures that are being contested by the independent UK Statistics Authority. I wish...

Order. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman can find a different way of phrasing the point he wishes...

I just have found a different way of phrasing it.

I wish the Secretary of State a speedy re...

Order. I do not need advice from Members on the time limit—I can count.

5.21 pm

Sadly, in Somerset we are used to flooding. After last year’s floods, which we thought were a one...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

Yes, because it will give me an extra minute.

Does my hon. Friend agree that we also need to look at co-ordination between bodies such as UK Po...

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. We need to revisit the whole issue of resilience in a big...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr Heath).

The floods an...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way ?

I am very happy to give way to my honourable neighbour.

The hon. Gentleman is making a valuable speech, but will he acknowledge that on the Saturday foll...

I absolutely recognise that fact, which was a good response by the Government at the time. I was ...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Scunthorpe (Nic Dakin). There is a Team North Linc...

I start by concurring with everything said by my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West (Paul Fl...

Romsey is located on the banks of the River Test, a world-renowned chalk stream. Too many times i...

As many hon. Members have made clear in powerful speeches this afternoon, the floods have had a d...

Like my hon. Friend the Member for Tewkesbury (Mr Robertson), my constituency has been very heavi...

I am pleased that we have this opportunity to discuss flooding today, because 37,7000 homes in my...

Does my hon. Friend know why it took three years for this Government to settle the Flood Re schem...

I do not know why, but perhaps the Minister will be able to enlighten us. Obviously, the statemen...

The hon. Lady has been consistent in raising the issue of the Help to Buy scheme. The scheme oper...

I do not know whether it is parliamentary to say this, but I am gobsmacked by that response. I th...

It is a pleasure to follow my near neighbour, the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Diana...

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No, I will not give way, because there are others who wish to speak. The flood defence funding is...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

I give way to my honourable neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Cleethorpes, who did so much...

Does my hon. Friend agree that local knowledge is particularly important in forecasting, and that...

That is absolutely correct. It ties in with the point I am making, which is that in 2007 the rive...

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The wind-up speeches are due to start from 6.40 pm.

6.29 pm

I will try to take just five minutes, so that my “hon. Friend for Heathrow, South”—the hon. Membe...

I am very grateful to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for calling me to speak in this important debate...

The water table.

Indeed. That really affected people’s lives, and down Guildford street, Garrick close and other p...

If it is right for the Government to cut the budget to below what it was when they came to office...

The hon. Gentleman knows full well that in 2010 we had a budget deficit that we had to reduce. Th...

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No, I am not going to give way, as there is intense pressure on time. I want to conclude by sayin...

May I begin by joining my hon. Friend the Member for Garston and Halewood (Maria Eagle) and the S...

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

Very briefly, as time is short.

It was a restriction of the River Itchen which took the heat out of the river and flooded some fa...

It shows what can happen when people take advice from the experts, as happened in that case.

I thank the right hon. Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn) for the spirit in which he closed t...

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I will come back to the hon. Gentleman later.

In addition to DEFRA funding, we are on cours...

Will my hon. Friend give way ?

I am afraid I do not have time, although my hon. Friend has raised these issues consistently too....

claimed to move the closure (Standing Order No. 36 ).

Question put forthwith, That the Ques...