Asked by: Joan Walley (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what representations he has received on introducing a statutory duty on the fire and rescue service to respond to major flooding; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
In 2012, my Department, consulted interested parties on this issue. The responses supported the Government's view, that the local resilience forums are best placed to decide how to organise local flooding response, as they do for other emergencies. In 2013 the Government amended its flood response guidance to support the work of the local resilience forums, and to affirm that no statutory duty would be needed.
The Civil Contingencies Act already requires fire and rescue authorities, and other responders such as the police, ambulance and local authorities, to work together to deal with a range of risks in their area, including flooding. This collaboration worked well during the flood events in winter 2013-14.
Asked by: Joan Walley (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what funding is allocated to the Local Government Ombudsman; how many staff the Ombudsman employs; and how many enquiries were received by the Ombudsman in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
The information requested can be found in the Local Government Ombudsman’s annual report and accounts, which are presented to Parliament each year, and which are available online at:
http://www.lgo.org.uk/publications/annual-report/