Written question asked by Lord Taylor of Holbeach (Conservative), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour) on Wednesday, 26 November 2008.

Flooding

Question: asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the reply by the Minister of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Jane Kennedy, on 23 October (Official Report, House of Commons, cols. 535–39), whether the lessons learnt in Morpeth about the operation of the early flood warning system will be applied to the rest of the United Kingdom.

Answer: The flood warning system is regularly improved to make use of new technology and respond to lessons learnt. The Morpeth floods highlighted a particular concern in the way the system is operated. The Environment Agency has already undertaken improvements to avoid a recurrence of the failure to issue a warning for the Middle Greens area in Morpeth. The lessons learnt at Morpeth have led to a review of the system and changes are under way to reduce the risk of similar failures across the whole of the flood warning system in England and Wales.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 705 c313-4WA; 6447
Session: 2007-08
Related items: Flooding (Morpeth)
Thursday, 23 October 2008
Parliamentary proceedings
House of Commons
Subjects: Floods Warnings
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk