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Flood and Water Management Bill

My hon. Friend makes a welcome contribution and raises an important issue. I thank the Minister and the hon. Member for Vale of York for their important and constructive contributions to the debates throughout. Although he is not present now, I would like to give particular thanks to my hon. Friend the Member for Brecon and Radnorshire (Mr. Williams) for his wise and expert contributions. Once again, I would also like to thank Victoria White, Har Shone and Tom Jenkins for their expert advice in my office. My test for the Bill was a simple question that I put on Second Reading: will the Bill help Warden Hill? By that I meant: will it help those thousands of neighbourhoods all over the country for which we had to try to make a practical difference? After many hours of debate, I think that the answer is yes. However, by neglecting critical issues such as insurance and planning, I do not think that the Bill will help Warden Hill nearly as much as it should have. Nevertheless, it remains a positive and fast-improving piece of legislation. I am happy to offer support from the Liberal Democrat Benches for its continued passage through Parliament.