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Pitt Report

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for the huge amount of work that he did, as did many hon. Members in all parts of the House, in the wake of the flooding. I remember the conversations that we had at the time. The whole purpose of the surface water management plans is to get all the people who have responsibility for the water—where it goes and where it ends up—to see how they can better deal with it when large amounts of rain fall and to ensure that it can be taken elsewhere. That means dealing with a legacy of 200 years of drains and culverts that were not designed for the kind of rainfall that we have seen and for the climate change that is coming—the hon. Member for East Surrey (Mr. Ainsworth) is right about that—and planning who is going to do what as a result, and, at the same time, taking the right decisions on planning and providing places where the water can go when new developments are made. Designing sustainable drainage systems into development is a way of avoiding adding to the problem. I wish Gloucestershire all the best in that work. May I commend Gloucestershire on the excellent booklet that has been published for residents? It is full of the most useful guidance and information. It is a model of its kind and I hope that other local authorities will follow it.