---

Pitt Report

First, may I welcome my right hon. Friend's statement? It will give a lot of hope to those of my constituents who have had some very nasty experiences with flooding over the past few years. We have been working extremely hard to try to tackle the flooding that has taken place in my constituency, particularly in Great Sankey and Penketh, which has caused horrible experiences, sometimes for vulnerable people. That flooding has been caused by two things: in some cases, ineffective management of current water systems; and also the extensive building growth in Warrington over the past 20 years. Will my right hon. Friend make sure that there is effective information sharing and communication between the local authority, the Environment Agency and the utilities companies so that they can both manage current situations and plan for the continued housing growth that is due to take place in Warrington, as a designated housing growth area, over the next few years?