Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what grants are available to people to carry out work in their homes to protect them from flooding; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Flooding has a devastating impact on communities, businesses and individuals, both in terms of physical damage and impacts on health, including mental health. The government closely monitors the impact on affected areas. With localised flooding incidents, local authorities are expected to have well established contingency arrangements in place and to be able to respond and support their local communities from within existing budgets.
Property measures that resist flood water, such as floor doors, which can reduce both the probability and damage from flooding, are eligible for Defra flood risk grant in aid. This eligibility is restricted to those properties that are at a very significant risk of flooding and that will move to a lower risk band as a result of the intervention. The Government has today published a Call for Evidence to explore potential changes for the future of the flood defence programme focusing on how we can strengthen our assessment of local circumstances. This includes looking at changes to how our flood defence investment programme can further benefit frequently flooded communities, and also exploring ways to increase the uptake of Property Flood Resilience measures
Local Councils also have discretionary powers to fund grants, loans or other payments for home improvements. This can include funding for Property Flood Resilience (PFR) measures. When opportunities for renewal, replacement or refurbishment arise for a property at flood risk; owners should consider integrating PFR measures that increase the 'flood recoverability' of the building. Following severe weather with significant impacts across multiple local authorities, the Government is able to deploy the Flood Recovery Framework.
During the unprecedented flooding in November 2019 and the storms which followed in winter 2019/2020, government announced PFR repair grants of up to £5,000 to help eligible properties affected by floods (homes, charities and businesses) become more flood resilient. The repair grants apply to those affected in district or unitary authorities that have 25 or more severely flooded properties.
The PFR repair grants are administered by eligible local authorities, with Defra reimbursing local authorities for grants paid for eligible properties. The most recent figures show that 47 district or unitary councils with over 7000 properties are eligible in England for the November 2019 and February 2020 PFR repair schemes. This includes 235 in the county of Gloucestershire, with 156 of these in Tewkesbury.
Local authorities on the November scheme now have until 31 December 2021 to recover their costs whilst local authorities on the February scheme have until 1 July 2022.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of (a) river dredging and (b) de-silting of minor waterways on reducing the incidence of flooding; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Environment Agency (EA) refers to dredging as the removal of accumulated material in a river. It is often done to maintain channel conveyance and ensure water can flow freely. Dredging also includes ‘de-silting’ which removes material like gravel or soil washed into rivers, as well as rocks and plant life.
To protect people and properties from flooding the EA prioritises activities that achieve the greatest benefit. Dredging and clearing channels are important parts of the EA’s maintenance regime when they improve the channel’s ability to carry increased river flows and manage flood risk. Over each of the past three years the EA has spent between £45 million and £55 million per year on channel maintenance, and between £5 million and £11 million of that is spent on dredging.
In 2010, the EA carried out a comprehensive series of trials to review and update the understanding of the benefits and effectiveness of dredging. It showed dredging can reduce flood risk, but its effectiveness and value-for-money varies significantly depending on location. Historic records and modelling also show that dredging in some locations can increase erosion and flood risk for communities downstream.
Since then, further studies such as the Thames bathymetry review have validated the results of the 2010 trials. In many cases, rivers naturally and quickly return to their pre-dredged state. Therefore any flood risk benefits are so short lived that the work cannot be economically justified.
The Somerset Rivers Authority and internal drainage boards (IDBs) have trialled alternative methods for dredging. These included both cutter suction and water injection dredging, and a full-scale 5 km trial using water injection dredging on the River Parrett. The trials demonstrated some potential to reduce costs of dredging in tidal rivers. The Environment Agency uses the results of such trials and studies to decide where and how dredging will be effective, on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to speed up payments due to farmers under the Countryside Stewardship Scheme; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has introduced a series of measures to simplify the guidance for Countryside Stewardship (CS) and make it easier to apply for the scheme. As of 24 April 2020, the RPA has issued full payments of £34 million to just over 56% of eligible CS 2019 annual revenue claims in comparison to 2018 where no full payments had been made. In recognition of the disruption caused by Coronavirus (Covid-19) we announced on 28 April that we will issue bridging payments, in May, for eligible 2019 CS annual revenue and Environmental Stewardship claims who have not received a full payment in order to help rural businesses with their cash-flow at this challenging time.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to publish details of the Farm Flood Recovery Scheme; and how farmers will be able to apply for support from that scheme; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
We announced on 20 March that the existing £4 million Farming Recovery Fund would be extended to cover the impacts of storms Ciara and Dennis and the further flooding that occurred in late February 2020. The available funding was increased by £6 million to help those who were most affected by these floods. Farmers in the eligible areas will be able to access up to £25,000 as a single contribution to cover their uninsurable losses. The funding will help with the re-cultivation or re-seeding of arable and grassland and the restoration of features such as field gates and fencing. As part of the announcement, we also confirmed a relaxation of the crop diversification requirements known as the three crop rule for 2020, to help any farmers who may have difficulty complying with the rule this year.
Defra has been working with the Rural Payments Agency to develop a new way to apply for the funding. We are now planning to launch a new application process that uses an online portal. Use of the portal will already be familiar to the many thousands of farmers who applied to the Countryside Productivity Small Grants scheme, and is recognised as being an easily accessible and fast route to access funding. This portal can be accessed via GOV.UK from late May and we will publicise its availability.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support he is providing to farmers to compensate for (a) the loss of product sales and (b) lower market prices as a result of the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The Government is aware that coronavirus represents a very significant challenge to daily life and to every part of the economy. We are working closely alongside the farming industry to ensure that we understand and manage the impacts to farming and the food supply chain.
Defra’s Food Chain Emergency Liaison Group is meeting regularly to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the food and farming sectors across the UK and what actions are needed to support the sector. This group includes the NFU, other industry stakeholders and the devolved administrations.
The Government is providing £330 billion of guarantees so any business needing cash can access a low-cost, Government-backed loan. If demand is greater than the initial £330 billion, then more capacity will be provided. This includes extension to the COVID-19 Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) as well as a new lending facility for larger firms.
The Government’s CBILS scheme is available to the farming sector and farm businesses are being encouraged to access the loans that are available from this scheme. Defra has held urgent discussions with the major banks to ensure they understand that farmers are eligible for this scheme and communications are being prepared to increase awareness across the industry.
The UK Agricultural Market Monitoring Group has increased the frequency of its meetings. Its aim is to monitor UK agricultural markets and provide forewarning of market movements. During the coronavirus outbreak this is allowing Defra and the Devolved Administrations to share the latest stakeholder information and to prepare the evidence base for a possible range of interventions needed in specific markets or specific geographical regions.
The Secretary of State remains in regular contact with representatives of the farming industry and will continue to engage with them on these important issues. We will continue to monitor the situation and to work closely with the farming sector and to respond to emerging issues as they arise.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support he is providing to farmers to compensate for the loss of milk sales as a result of the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
Defra is working closely with the dairy industry to manage the impact of Covid-19. Though demand for milk and some dairy products has increased in supermarkets, farmers supplying milk to processors that sell into the food service sector have seen a significant reduction in demand.
Between 5 and 10% of total milk production goes to the service trade and there is therefore a small proportion of milk production that currently has no home. The vast majority of Britain’s dairy farmers continue to supply their contracts at the usual price. In order to support affected farmers, we have eased some elements of competition law to make it easier for processors to come together to maximise production, processing and storage efficiency and ensure as much product as possible can be processed into high quality dairy products.
We have asked the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (which supports the interests of dairy farmers) and Dairy UK (which represents the processors) to work with farmers and processors to ensure that the industry can benefit from these easements. We stand ready to support them throughout this pandemic. This approach will allow the market for milk to adjust to the change in demand for milk while allowing production to be restored when shops, restaurants and pubs are able to open again.
The Government took a number of early emergency steps to support dairy farmers and the wider sector. These included designating employees in the food sector as key workers and temporarily relaxing the normal rules on drivers’ hours, enabling the sector to keep supply chains running, including deliveries from farm gate to processors.
The Government’s Covid-19 Business Interruption Loans scheme is available to the dairy industry. Defra has held urgent discussions with the major banks to ensure they understand that farmers, milk buyers and milk processors are eligible for this scheme and communications are being prepared to increase awareness across the dairy industry.
We will continue to engage closely with representatives from all parts of the dairy supply chain to support the sector throughout this challenging period.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make payments to farmers to use fields to soak up water at times of flood risk; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
There are many measures the Government can use to mitigate the risk of flooding and coastal erosion in England, especially when considered across an entire catchment. These include building and maintaining traditional defence schemes and using more natural processes, commonly known as natural flood management.
These natural processes, where appropriately designed and situated, play an important role by slowing the flow of flood water as it moves downstream. These processes can include tree planting, leaky debris dams and peatland restoration on upper slopes, flood washlands and river re-connection mid-catchment and management and creation of coastal marsh and sand dune systems in coastal areas.
Floodplains, and many washlands provide a natural and expected space to receive excess water when watercourses are subject to flood conditions. Outside of flood conditions these lands can provide opportunities for food production and/or useful spaces for wildlife and recreation.
However, there are additional spaces, including farmland, where intervention is needed to store flood water temporarily away from watercourses, when it will help to protect a community or critical infrastructure further downstream. Under the Water Resources Act 1991, Risk Management Authorities, including the Environment Agency, may, where appropriate, make payments to the landowner to allow for such land to be used as part of a scheme to create an area of temporary flood storage. The Environment Agency already has around 500 such arrangements with landowners around England.
Furthermore there is also a funding mechanism through Countryside Stewardship grants to encourage making space for water. This grant aims to help water flow in a winding course across floodplains, flooding temporarily to restore river and wetland habitats. It will also reduce the risk of high energy flows and soil erosion, and allow water to drain freely back into the river channel.
Finally, the new Environmental Land Management scheme will roll out from late 2024. The scheme will incentivise the reduction in and protection from environmental hazards. To deliver this public good it could pay farmers and other land managers for land management practices that can help reduce the impacts of, and enhance resilience to, flooding, for example incentivising temporary flood storage areas.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure the planting of additional trees to reduce the risk of flooding; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
This Government has committed to increase planting across the UK to 30,000 hectares of trees per year by 2025. This will be supported in England by our £640 million Nature for Climate Fund, announced at the spring budget.
Additionally, we will soon consult on our English Tree Strategy. The consultation will seek feedback on policies to increase tree and woodland cover, including riparian planting along rivers and on hillsides. Planting trees can contribute to a wider catchment-based approach to flood alleviation, slowing the flow of water. The right tree in the right place can also improve water quality, biodiversity, air quality, and soil health.