I encourage the local authority to get a grip of this issue. Of course, Reform-led councils do not have a great record. It is the party with the most councils that are red-rated on potholes and so on, and I encourage it to take action on this issue.

Haslingden Old Road in my constituency has been shut for two years due to a landslip. Will the Minister support me in urging Reform-led Lancashire county council to get this road reopened, as it is such a vital backbone going through my constituency?

I discussed Iain Guille's detention and welfare with my Turkish counterpart on 17 December 2025 and 3 February 2026, and I am continuing to follow the case closely. Consular officials are also monitoring Mr Guille's situation and providing support to his family as appropriate.

The Minister of State for Europe, Stephen Doughty, has discussed Iain Guille's detention and welfare with his Turkish counterpart on two occasions, most recently in February 2026. UK Consular officials, in conjunction with their Canadian counterparts, have raised concerns about Mr Guille's welfare with the Turkish authorities, and will continue to monitor his health and welfare while he is detained, engaging with the relevant authorities as appropriate.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 46774 on 29 April 2025.

Network Rail, as the owner and operator of Britain’s railway infrastructure, is responsible for managing geotechnical risks and ensuring the safe and reliable operation of the network, including in Surrey and the Surrey Heath constituency. It undertakes continuous monitoring of high-risk sites, regular inspections, and targeted earthworks renewals to reduce the likelihood and impact of landslips.‑risk sites, regular inspections, and targeted earthworks renewals to reduce the likelihood and impact of landslips.

In the South East, Network Rail has recently strengthened its earthworks resilience programme, including enhanced drainage, slope stabilisation works and the use of remote monitoring technology to identify movement at an early stage. Following the extreme weather over the last year, Network Rail has also carried out additional precautionary inspections to prioritise any sites where further intervention may be required. My department maintains regular oversight of Network Rail’s national resilience programme through its funding settlements and business planning processes.

The Government has not carried out any assessments as described in the Noble Lord’s questions. Train Operating Companies, including South Western Railway and Great Western Railway, are not responsible for managing or maintaining railway infrastructure and have not incurred any expenditure on flood defences or embankment maintenance.

Network Rail has robust plans in place to improve and maintain infrastructure. The Wales & Western Region will see a £2.6 billion asset renewals programme and £1.6 billion invested to maintain existing assets and the Southern Region will see an investment of over £3 billion in infrastructure during the current Control Period to 2029.

It is also addressing severe weather events through comprehensive weather resilience and climate change adaptation plans, focusing on safeguarding assets, embedding resilience into daily operations, and adapting to climate change impacts across both the Wales & Western and Southern routes.

An example is the extensive works being implemented at Chipping Sodbury on the Great Western Main Line to mitigate the impact of flooding from both surface water and groundwater. The work already completed has improved the level of resilience from closure due to rainfall. Network Rail is funding further work at this location during the current Control Period to 2029.

The Government has not carried out any assessments as described in the Noble Lord’s questions. Train Operating Companies, including South Western Railway and Great Western Railway, are not responsible for managing or maintaining railway infrastructure and have not incurred any expenditure on flood defences or embankment maintenance.

Network Rail has robust plans in place to improve and maintain infrastructure. The Wales & Western Region will see a £2.6 billion asset renewals programme and £1.6 billion invested to maintain existing assets and the Southern Region will see an investment of over £3 billion in infrastructure during the current Control Period to 2029.

It is also addressing severe weather events through comprehensive weather resilience and climate change adaptation plans, focusing on safeguarding assets, embedding resilience into daily operations, and adapting to climate change impacts across both the Wales & Western and Southern routes.

An example is the extensive works being implemented at Chipping Sodbury on the Great Western Main Line to mitigate the impact of flooding from both surface water and groundwater. The work already completed has improved the level of resilience from closure due to rainfall. Network Rail is funding further work at this location during the current Control Period to 2029.

Network Rail, as the infrastructure manager of Britain’s railways, is responsible for maintaining the integrity and safety of the rail network to ensure passenger and freight services can operate reliably.

Following the tragic derailment at Carmont in August 2020, Network Rail commissioned two task forces looking at earthworks management and extreme weather response. In response to these, Network Rail have taken forward a number of actions including commissioning an active nationwide monitoring regime using remote sensors, modelling and geotechnical assessments to monitor slope stability across the network.

In its 24/25 Annual Assessment, the independent safety regulator, the Office of Rail and Road, indicated that Network Rail is making good progress in its delivery of weather resilience and climate adaptation plans.

Network Rail, as the infrastructure manager of Britain’s railways, has the main responsibility for maintaining the integrity and safety of the rail network from landslips. To this end, Network Rail has allocated £2.8 billion during Control Period 7 (2024-2029) to be invested on activities and technology to improve system wide resilience to extreme weather and climate change, including landslips.  These activities include both preventative and reactive measures, including reinforcing embankments, enhancing drainage systems, stabilising slopes, and using remote sensing and real-time monitoring to predict and monitor slope movements to enable early intervention.  Network Rail has recently invested £33m to prevent landslips on the Browney Curvey near Durham, £25m on the Severn Estuary line and £3.5m on the Edinburgh to Glasgow line.  Network Rail has also developed a range of measures to enable it to anticipate and mitigate disruption to the rail network caused by extreme weather, which are contained in its Weather Resilience and Climate Change Adaptation Plan.  These build on the recommendations of the Mair-Slingo reports, which were commissioned following the Stonehaven derailment in August 2020.

I [Minister Doughty] was in contact with the Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) on 5 October and expressed the UK's condolences for the loss of life and damage caused by flooding and landslides. On 4 and 5 October, British search and rescue specialists (in BiH as a short-term training team arranged by the British Embassy in Sarajevo) provided advice and expertise to BiH armed forces and emergency services on the ground. The UK's Ambassador to BiH visited the worst affected sites on 5 October, meeting the UK team and local mayors. The UK Government is considering, with BiH authorities and international partners, how it might support further responses.

The UK is a major contributor to the Start Fund which has allocated over £200,000 to Caritas India and SEEDS India. These two non-governmental organisations are providing support to vulnerable communities that were severely affected by the landslides and flooding in Wayanad District in Kerala. This included basic household goods, such as bedding, kitchen and hygiene items, and cash assistance.

On 15 January the British High Commissioner expressed condolences on behalf of the UK following the tragic loss of 22 lives at the Ng'alita mine. The UK has not been asked to provide support on this occasion but has previously supported relief efforts in similar situations through the multi-donor pooled Start Network. UK contributions to the Start Network have assisted Tanzania in addressing challenges caused by flooding, with relief in the areas of sanitation and hygiene, child protection, mental health and psychosocial support, and the provision of health and food items.

Maintaining world leading levels of rail safety remains our top priority in rail. My department has committed £44.1 billion to Network Rail to spend on operations, maintenance, and renewal work on the network in England and Wales during Control Period 7. A further £4.2 billion has been made available to Network Rail Scotland for similar purposes to drive improvements in safety and reliability. Network Rail is responsible for mitigating risks associated with drainage issues within this funding settlement and in accordance with rail safety legislation.

Network Rail, as the infrastructure manager of Britain’s railways, continue to review and update the monitoring techniques they use to detect precursors for earthwork failures on railway embankments they manage. These enhancements are informed by geotechnical experts and include increasing the use of remote sensing, photogrammetry, CCTV, distributed acoustic sensing and inclinometers. These are among other tools to enable Network Rail engineers to target measures to reinforce slopes, add protection and improve resilience in the long term.