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Pitt Report

If the heavy rain of July last year had fallen slightly further south, the Somerset levels, which are prone to flooding in any case, would have been catastrophically affected. There was severe local flooding last week. Is the Secretary of State aware that a contributory cause of this vulnerability is the failure of the Environment Agency properly to maintain the rivers for which it is responsible in Somerset? Will he have a word with the Environment Agency to make sure that it carries out proper and regular dredging and removes potential obstructions? Will he ensure that the agency's discharge of its environmental responsibilities is not at the expense of its drainage responsibilities?