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Flood and Water Management Bill

That is exactly the point that I was addressing. The project is designed to identify the gaps in the big resources such as pumps and boats, but also in those resources—uniforms and so on—that are essential to all persons encountering a flood situation. The hon. Lady also asked about who had overall control in an emergency. That is already very clear. In his recommendation 42, Pitt said:""Where a Gold Command is established for severe weather events, the police, unless agreed otherwise locally, should convene and lead the multi-agency response."" In Cumbria, therefore, police took the lead overall but, in that arrangement, the fire and rescue authority had clear responsibility for the co-ordination of rescue, including by boat, while the Ministry of Defence co-ordinated the helicopter. The fire and rescue authority will always be part of the multi-agency grouping put together under both gold and silver commands.