Written question asked by Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Rooker (Labour) on Tuesday, 30 October 2007.

Flooding

Question: asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their response to the summer 2007 floods review by the Environment Agency which has found that nearly 5,000 sites of critical infrastructure are built on flood plains and that most have little or no protection.

Answer: The Environment Agency had identified nearly 5,000 sites which are located in areas in England and Wales assessed by the agency as having an annual probability of flooding of one in 75 or greater. These include 2,215 power stations and substations, 737 sewage and water treatment works, 680 health centres and surgeries and 401 schools. However, it does not follow that each site is at this level of risk as the agency list does not take account of, for example, the ground elevation of individual sites or construction details including site-specific flood resilience measures. The operators of this infrastructure are responsible for contingency planning to ensure continuity of service in the event of hazards such as flooding. The independent government review into the recent flooding, led by Sir Michael Pitt, will focus specifically on the vulnerability of critical infrastructure, including its ability to withstand flooding and what improvements might be made. My honourable friend the Minister of State for Energy has commissioned a review of the resilience of electricity substations to flooding and the measures that might be needed to improve this.

Secondary information