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Flooding in Cumbria

My Lords, I should like to thank the Minister for repeating this sombre Statement and I am grateful for the advance notice that he gave me. The Statement pays proper tribute to those who have lost their lives, in particular PC Bill Barker. From these Benches, we send our sympathy to their families and colleagues, and I am sure that all sides of the House will wish to join in these tributes. People have been affected all over the country and some noble Lords may have experience of this latest bout of bad weather. The severe weather warning was all too accurate. Minds are focused particularly on the Lake District, an area I know well, and communities such as Cockermouth, Keswick and Workington, as well as many of the smaller communities. Those of us who have had to rely on television pictures can but imagine the chaos and disruption that has been visited upon these towns, villages and hamlets. I should like to record a further tribute to the emergency and support services. The Minister repeated the list of the many who have been involved, including mountain rescue, which has done a fine job. All those who have helped to move people to safety deserve our thanks. Many are volunteers and we pay tribute to their involvement, courage and determination to help. Now we must concentrate on the future. The Government must ensure that people are back in their homes as soon as possible. I do not underestimate the difficulty of this task. Some 18 months after the summer floods of 2007, some people still are out of their homes. Lessons should have been learnt as to how to avoid such delays. I am pleased that the Government have already been in dialogue with the Association of British Insurers. Last time, the co-operation and assistance of the ABI were vital in bringing people’s lives back to normal. Meanwhile, it has been heartening to see how communities have been brought together by these devastating floods. There are lessons for the Government in recognising this important asset at all times, but particularly at times like this, and how important it is for government policy to support communities, particularly those in rural areas. In repeating this Statement, the Minister tells us of the damage done to infrastructure, such as roads and bridges. Troops have already been involved and I hope that the Royal Engineers will be called on to set up temporary crossing facilities, Bailey bridges and the like. This is not easy country and the river systems cut and divide people from work, school, shops and care services. The full reconstruction of some of these bridges will take time. In the mean time, we must all support the establishment of normal life. I note the ministerial meeting to be held this afternoon and I hope that the cross-government co-ordination will continue into the recovery phase. We will shortly have the opportunity to consider the Floods and Water Management Bill. We will talk about it in the debate on the humble Address tomorrow. We welcome the Bill. The events of the end of last week have made its enactment even more pressing. By implementing the Pitt report, the Government can at least make sure that while they cannot prevent flooding, they can ensure that proper protection is in place and that the threats faced by so many are reduced. I expect noble Lords on all Benches did not need the wake-up call of the events of this past weekend, such as the catastrophic floods in Cumbria, to agree with that objective.