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Flooding (Northumberland)

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for making that point. None the less, when there is such an event and the defences are not adequate, the impact on families and businesses is devastating. My hon. Friend the Member for Oldham, East and Saddleworth told me of his satisfaction at the success of the multi-agency approach co-ordinated by the Gold Command set up in Northumberland in September. Those involved showed what can be accomplished through strong partnership work. The successful evacuation of Morpeth is an example: it started at noon in the High Stanners area and full evacuation was under way by 4 o'clock, led by the local authority and supported by the emergency services and the Environment Agency. Approximately 180 fire and rescue personnel were used on Saturday, with all 22 appliances in Northumberland being utilised. Mutual aid assistance was given by neighbouring fire and rescue services, and the operation was supported by Northumberland Mountain Rescue, Northumbria Police Marine Rescue and the RSPCA. Fire and rescue people-carriers, as well as minibuses, were used to transport evacuated residents to rest centres, helping approximately 300 members of the public to reach safe accommodation at the height of the evacuation. By the morning of Sunday 7 September, the floodwaters had, thankfully, almost completely receded and roads were reopened. I commend the residents in the affected areas for how quickly they bounced back. Incredibly, much of the centre of Morpeth was open for business before Sunday lunchtime and the recovery operation was well under way. Following any flooding event, the hard work really begins on the long road to recovery. In Northumberland, the local recovery and support operation will continue for some months yet. The right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed is right to point out that a number of families will suffer for many months, perhaps from the loss of their home or from damage to their business. I express my deep gratitude to all involved for the way they have pulled together in the face of such adversity. Recovery and restoration groups in Castle Morpeth and Alnwick are offering guidance and support to local residents, while representatives of the councils, the fire and rescue service and the police have visited local residents to discuss the support available. The National Flood Forum is advising the recovery and restoration groups on the issues that they are likely to face as the recovery effort continues. One NorthEast, the regional development agency, has made £500,000 available to help affected businesses with immediate costs, and my hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government has confirmed that the Bellwin scheme has been activated to cover the immediate local authority costs of responding to the floods. I hear what the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed says about whether the figure should be 85 or 100 per cent. Those matters will, no doubt, be considered. Applications for Bellwin assistance are being prepared by Northumberland county council and Castle Morpeth borough council. I should like to express my gratitude for the actions of many third sector organisations following the flooding: they once again showed that our communities can really pull together at difficult times. Voluntary agencies have worked with supermarkets to provide food, goods and cleaning materials, and residents have provided donations in the form of furniture and household items. Community groups continue to provide drop-in centres to give affected families a break from the clean-up operation. A distressing issue that can arise from flooding is the impact on wildlife and livestock. Many local people will have seen coverage of the issue in the press, and the right hon. Gentleman raised the subject. Unfortunately, it was reported that about 800 sheep were lost during the floods. Left unchecked, the existence of so many dead animals would have posed a risk to public health. The majority of carcases were disposed of thanks to arrangements made at short notice by the county council and funded by One NorthEast. I do not recognise the right hon. Gentleman's description of the reluctance of the Environment Agency to engage. I am advised that a partnership approach was taken, and that the prompt action helped to ensure a proper response—the kind of response that we would have looked for—and I commend all those who brought about the fast and effective disposal of the carcases. I know that many people have made public their thanks to the emergency services for the excellent job they did in dealing with the flooding, and I should like to record mine. For some citizens of Morpeth, the September floods will not have been their first experience of such events. Since September, the Environment Agency has carried out emergency works in the area, including a structural assessment of a damaged in-river weir upstream of Morpeth and of various flood defences in the town. It has also designed a replacement for a flood wall that was demolished by the force of water pushing against it after the town had been inundated. The initiation of the Environment Agency's flood alleviation scheme, which commenced in December 2007, is important for the longer term. The River Wansbeck strategy study determined that a stand-alone flood alleviation scheme should be progressed in Morpeth. An initial site investigation was carried out, and an environmental assessment is under way.