The Government has announced a record £2.65Bn for flood defences.
I asked Flooding Minister how she’ll make sure that the money is spent wisely and that the Treasury understands year on year spend is needed to reach all areas, like Chesterfield, who need that investment.
Transcript
Mr Speaker: Toby Perkins, Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee.
Toby Perkins: Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. My Hon. Friend and the Secretary of State deserve great credit for attracting the large investment that has come but once they’ve finished the lap of honour, they will be aware that this is literally just the first step up the mountain. She’s absolutely right that the Government has inherited flood defences in an appalling state. The latest estimates are as many as 6 million houses are at risk of flooding.
I also call on her to get on with the flood improvements we demand in Chesterfield, but can she tell us more about how she’s going to make sure that firstly, this money gets spent wisely and secondly, that the Treasury understand that this is not a 1-year commitment but something we are going to need for the rest of this term?
Minister: I thank my Hon. Friend, and can I also, Mr Speaker, congratulate my Hon. Friend on his recent engagement. He is absolutely right to point out about the importance of money being spent saves money and I think a couple of interesting facts is for every £1 we spend on maintenance of flood defences actually saves £13 when it comes to damage prevented and for building new defences, for every £1 we spend it’s £5 saved in preventing damage. So, these are important statistics that I tend to use frequently with the Treasury in future negotiations and Spending Reviews.