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Flood and Water Management Bill

My Lords, I have added my name to that of my noble friend Lord Dixon-Smith in these two amendments which deal with seawall breaches. Clause 9 appears to give a definitive list of the types of flood risk for which a lead local flood authority must develop a strategy. However, there is no need to mention the flooding caused by a breach in sea defences. Could that be because the Environment Agency is given the task of looking after the coastline? In Clause 13(1) we are told that "coast protection authority" has the meaning given in Section 1 of the Coast Protection Act 1949. This states: ""The council of each maritime district shall … be the coast protection authority for the district"." That suggests to me that the matter is one for local authorities. However, Clause 9 is silent on the point. Like my noble friend, I am puzzled by the omission of this source of flooding, given that district councils appear to be the responsible authority. Will the Minister explain exactly who should concern themselves with the kind of flooding outlined by my noble friend? Is it the Environment Agency or the maritime district councils? Given the damage that can be caused by high tides and strong winds—here I refer to the damage caused by the high tides and high winds in 1953, which was referred to by my noble friend Lord Dixon-Smith, and to the deaths in Norfolk, my home county—it would be helpful for the Government to make clear where responsibility lies.