Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Eric Martlew (Labour). It was answered on Thursday, 29 October 2009 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Floods (Pitt Report)

Question: The Pitt inquiry states that the public utilities should be protected—the fresh water, electricity and waste water plants. That was especially a problem when Carlisle flooded. Has satisfactory progress been made on that?

Answer: That is an important point and I am pleased to tell my hon. Friend that we set up a new Cabinet Office team to ensure that critical national infrastructure—for example, power stations—is properly protected from flooding. If we are lucky in what may be in the Queen's Speech—we can never second-guess it—there is an imperative under the Labour Government to get on and deliver the legislation that will give further protection to homes, businesses and infrastructure.

Secondary information