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Lord Whitty (Lab)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 7 January 2025

Debate

Flooding

Contribution

My Lords, further to the point raised by the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, and my noble friend Lady Young, on planning and flood risk, I recall being a member of the board of the Environment Agency when it was given responsibility in the sense that it was a statutory consultee. I remember saying at the time, “This gives us responsibility without power”. Will the Government, in addition to the very welcome measures the Minister has already announced, give the Environment Agency and equivalents the power to override planning decisions if they consider the flood risk presented to be unacceptable? Will she also extend the period of help for the Environment Agency in terms of capital and staffing costs to ensure that the monitoring is effective?

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