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Flood and Water Management Bill

My Lords, I start by declaring a couple of interests. I am just about to be made a non-executive director of Watertight, which is a company that deals with making houses secure from flooding—especially sewer flooding—and I am chairman of the Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association. I also own a pub in Northumberland. That is not strictly relevant but I thought I would add it anyway. An interesting way in which to start the debate, which makes it entirely topical, is to note that the front cover of the Bill states: ""Lord Davies of Oldham has made the following statement under section 19(1)(a) of the Human Rights Act … In my view the provisions of the Flood and Water Management Bill are compatible with the Convention rights"." I mention that because in 2008 we passed the Climate Change Act and I wonder whether it is about time to start to consider whether a declaration should be made by the Minister on whether legislation is compliant with that Act. It would be topical because the noble Lord, Lord Davies of Oldham, did so much to help in its enactment and because there are aspects of it that need to be considered in the case of climate change. The whole issue of flood and water management is based around climate change. I understand the science of climate change—it is difficult to declare, or for a scientist to claim, that any one of the recent floods has a direct correlation as a climate change event. However, the large number of flooding events can be seen as an indication of a changing climate. The noble Lord, Lord Dixon-Smith, mentioned the problems in Essex: this was very pertinent considering that sea-level rises are about 3 millimetres a year and could well increase. We are standing next to the River Thames: when the Thames Barrier was built, it was not expected to be raised on such frequent occasions, and there is real talk about building a further barrier. Although it is not in the Bill, I must mention our support for ongoing efforts to build a sewer under the Thames to divert all the flood water that washes so much sewerage into the Thames on such a regular basis. The noble Lord, Lord Addington, and I saw the direct effects of this when we went out training for the Lords and Commons rowing race just after heavy rains—going down the Thames was a particularly unpleasant affair. However, I go back to the issue about compliance with the Climate Change Act because I notice that an opportunity has been lost in the Bill. In the Energy Bill that is before the House even further stringent measures are being taken to increase the primary duties of Ofgem to deal with sustainability. The noble Lord, Lord Greaves, discussed what sustainability actually means; many planners and people in local authorities are starting to read sustainability in relation to the issue of carbon emissions. There is a real opportunity here which has been lost. In the Energy Bill we are increasing the duties of the regulator to deal with climate change, but it has been completely neglected in the Flood and Water Management Bill. Before we reach the Committee stage, will the Minister consider adding the wording that is in the Energy Bill to the Flood and Water Management Bill so that Ofwat is given a duty to consider the issue of climate change over and above the cost implications? This is extremely important. As I mentioned, I am chairman of the Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association. Ofwat has taken a strict regulatory viewpoint. I was at a meeting with Ofwat recently where it said it would love to encourage the introduction of renewable energy schemes and anaerobic digestion but it is limited by its primary duties. The Government really will have to think about changing Ofwat’s primary duties. The noble Lord, Lord Oxburgh, who is in his place at the moment, introduced a very fine amendment to the Energy Act 2008, which is now raising some considerable issues and is one of the reasons there has been a change in the current Energy Bill. The Government took on board his amendment and introduced a provision that Ofgem has to consider the good of past and future customers. This could be read across into the Flood and Water Management Bill in an interesting way. I should be interested to hear whether the Minister believes that my reading of this is correct. Under the Flood and Water Management Bill, the Environment Agency is able to direct who should pay for flood defences. I should have thought that under the provisions in the Energy Bill Ofgem has a responsibility, in considering the good of past and future customers, to direct the payment of flood defences for electricity sub-stations—especially after the floods in Tewkesbury, which almost took out one of the sub-stations. This would have left about 250,000 electricity users—though I am not entirely sure—without power for a very long period of time. If my reading of that is correct, then under the Flood and Water Management Bill the Environment Agency, under the noble Lord, Lord Smith, would be able to give direction to Ofgem to require that the energy companies provide adequate flood defences for all sub-stations in flooding zones. If that is the case, the Bill will have quite interesting cost implications. I very much hope that my reading of this is correct. Obviously, dealing with the regulators is a somewhat tortuous affair but I believe that there could be a case for judicial review if they took the opposite view and felt that they were not responsible. If would therefore be helpful if the Minister could clarify the situation. If he is not in a position to do so at the moment, it would be very helpful if he could write a letter on this subject giving me an indication of the situation. However, I very much hope that, having agreed that the regulator in electricity and gas markets should take seriously the provisions of the Climate Change Act, the Government will think carefully about transposing the provisions, which they produced and which were enacted before Parliament, straight across into the Flood and Water Management Bill. From speeches that have been made by many Members of all parties in this House, I am absolutely certain that that would have considerable support.