---

Flood and Water Management Bill

The hon. Lady makes a good point but she anticipates what I am about to say. If she will bear with me, I promise that I will get to the matter that she raises. It has rightly been pointed out that the issue of a statutory duty was raised by Sir Michael Pitt in his report on the 2007 floods. The Government support Sir Michael's recommendation that a fully funded national capability for flood rescue should be put in place, with fire and rescue authorities playing a leading role, underpinned if necessary by a statutory duty. My hon. Friends the Members for Hayes and Harlington and for Stroud pointed to the use of the phrase "if necessary". The House may not be aware that DEFRA has been taking forward work in advance of this Bill to bring together the key stakeholders—that is, Departments and responder organisations—in a project that responds specifically to Pitt's recommendation. The project is designed to improve flood rescue capability and co-ordination. So far, it has focused on putting in place a co-ordinated, multi-agency flood rescue capability, as we want to bring all the relevant agencies together. The flood rescue concept of operations, as it is called, is currently in draft and will help clarify the roles and responsibilities of flood rescue responders. Therefore, part of my argument to my hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington is that we have not waited. We have already started the project, and many of the agencies are submitting ideas to get the flood rescue concept of operations right. Both the fire and rescue service and the RNLI, among others, are participating actively in the project, and have provided project team members as well as members of the project board. The Government have agreed that the remit of the fire and rescue service national co-ordination centre, which has been established to co-ordinate the national mobilisation of the so-called new dimension assets, can be extended to include flood rescue assets from all flood responder organisations. In the current spending review, we have made available up to £2 million to enhance our flood rescue capability. A strategy for the best use of that money is being developed, not just with me as the Minister, but with responder organisations such as the fire and rescue service. I want to make it clear, for my hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington and for all those who have spoken in support of the amendment, that we do not reject totally the idea of a statutory duty option "if necessary", as Sir Michael Pitt said. Our assessment at the moment is that that duty is not clearly needed, right here and right now, although we are already doing work in that direction. On completion of the project, and having assessed the improved flood rescue capability, the Government will consider whether the roles and responsibilities of the organisations involved need any statutory underpinning, or whether continued co-ordination and further guidance will be sufficient. We need to let the project show what it can deliver.