Water Bill

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville Excerpts

Monday 27th January 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (LD)]

My Lords, we have had a wide-ranging debate today covering the many aspects of this important Bill. I will try to be brief and my comments are concentrated on three areas. While the majority of the Bill is concerned with the supply of water and ensuring that all households throughout England have a steady supply of fresh water—and this is vital—today I am addressing the issue of the surplus of water: that is, flooding.

As has been said already, the Bill makes provision by Flood Re for those properties at risk of severe flooding to get affordable insurance following the end of the statement of principles with the insurance industry that has been in place since 2000. As others have commented in the past, my accent betrays my heritage. In Somerset, as all can see from television and newspaper coverage, especially today, the landscape changes dramatically in winter, sometimes for short periods but currently for much longer ones. This has always been a problem for the levels, but it is definitely getting worse. In the winter of 2012-13, the village of Muchelney was cut off for weeks, and it is now cut off again. The fire brigade has done a brilliant job ferrying people to and fro, and the county council has assisted in building a pontoon for villagers to access boats so that they can do their shopping and get to work. The great British community spirit has risen above all the difficulties. Nevertheless, residents in long-term flooded areas are suffering stress and the beginnings of mental health problems.

While welcoming the proposals for Flood Re, like others, I am concerned about some of the exclusions. Many small businesses that operate on the Somerset Levels will find it impossible to get insurance if they are not included in Flood Re. At a time when the economy needs every job it can get, it seems short-sighted in the extreme to be putting the viability of those businesses at risk. As I understand the Bill, some mixed hereditaments are included in Flood Re, but this seems to be dependent on whether they are assessed for business rates. Similarly, private rented and leasehold households are excluded. When everything we know about housing is that it is in short supply, to again jeopardise that supply by pushing private landlords out of the market could be discriminatory. It is generally a requirement of mortgage lenders that insurance is in place. To have insurance that excludes flooding is not wise. Are the flood-prone areas therefore to become devoid of population as people are forced to move to higher ground in order to be able to get the insurance cover needed to have access to a mortgage?

Internal drainage boards comprise local people who know their area and its problems. They can often see what solutions might be needed and could implement fairly low-cost works to alleviate some of the flooding. Disaggregating the drainage board levy from local authority council tax is vital to enable the boards to operate effectively and efficiently. Enabling them to assess what is required and then raise the necessary levy in order to carry out remedial works is key in helping to restore public confidence that the issue is being taken seriously.

Lastly, I wish to raise the issue of the value placed on agricultural land. As can be seen on our television screens, acres of agricultural land are underwater for large portions of the year. This is affecting farmers’ ability to earn a proper living and placing their families at risk. Again, there is a risk to mental health as well as to health and well-being. When it comes to flood defence works, to what extent do the loss of earnings and devaluation of the land figure in the calculations about which areas qualify for flood alleviation works and which do not? How does adequate funding for repairs get taken into consideration? Some form of financially sustainable system needs to be in place in order for the land to be farmed effectively. Land cannot just be left fallow year after year. Land does not look after itself, as I am sure all the farmers here know. It needs constant managing in order to get the best out of it. Farmers need encouragement, not obstacles and difficulties. This is a very real issue and one that I hope we can address during the passage of this Bill.

I am encouraged by much of what is included in the Water Bill, and I hope that we may be able to address many of the points made by others, with which I agree, over the coming weeks.