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Written Question
Storms
Tuesday 17th December 2024

Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to support people affected by Storm Darragh.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare

As I said to the House on 10 December, Storm Darragh brought strong winds to the UK late last week, and saw a RED weather warning issued for wind covering parts of England and Wales. The Government immediately took action to prepare for the arrival of Storm Darragh. Ahead of the storm, we issued an emergency alert to over 3 million people in affected regions under a red weather warning, urging them to stay indoors. That was the largest use of the early warning system outside of a test scenario.

The Storm resulted in impacts affecting a number key services and infrastructure including power supply, transport, and telecoms. Power outages caused over two million customers to lose their electricity supply. Although the majority of customers had their power restored very quickly, our priority continues to be on ensuring that every household without power is reconnected as quickly as possible. Engineers for the National Grid and other network operators are working to ensure all possible steps are being taken to re-connect the small number of remaining customers off supply. The latest information they have provided is that remaining customers will be reconnected by the end of this week.

Over 10,000 properties were protected from flooding, however, support is being provided by the Environment Agency and local authorities to the small number of households impacted by flooding.

Although the Storm has passed, the Government will continue to follow the recovery efforts and the work of local responders who are supporting communities affected by the Storm and will ensure that lessons identified are used to further improve our resilience to severe weather.

I am grateful for the response from local resilience forums around the country. I praise our emergency responders and utility workers, who have worked so hard in difficult conditions to help the public manage the impacts of the storm.

Written Question
Animal and Plant Health Agency: Weybridge
Friday 15th November 2024

Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including the potential risks associated with not fully rebuilding the Animal Plant and Health Agency Headquarters in Weybridge in the National Risk Register.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare

All risks in the National Risk Register, including those related to animal and plant health, are kept under review to ensure that they are the most appropriate scenarios to inform emergency preparedness and resilience activity and to reflect the risk landscape.

The risks that meet the threshold for inclusion in the NRR would have a substantial impact on the UK’s safety, security and/or critical systems at a national level.

Lead government departments develop generic capabilities that can be used to respond to impacts, regardless of the risk that caused them. This means the government can respond flexibly to the widest range of risks.



Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 20 Jul 2022
Oral Answers to Questions

"Does the President of COP26 agree that the extreme hot weather this week serves as a stark reminder of the realities and danger of climate change, and the need for the UK and the rest of the world to strengthen their resolve to achieve the objectives set at COP26?..."
Neil Hudson - View Speech

View all Neil Hudson (Con - Epping Forest) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions
Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 20 Jul 2022
Heatwave Response

"I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement, and I thank him and those in his Department and across Government who are working on planning and resilience in these unprecedented weather times. I also thank our emergency services, people in the public services and in the NHS on the …..."
Neil Hudson - View Speech

View all Neil Hudson (Con - Epping Forest) contributions to the debate on: Heatwave Response
Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 20 Apr 2022
Oral Answers to Questions

"Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 20 April...."
Neil Hudson - View Speech

View all Neil Hudson (Con - Epping Forest) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions
Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 20 Apr 2022
Oral Answers to Questions

"Challenges with rural transport remain some of the greatest obstacles facing people in Penrith and The Border. I was pleased last year that, on top of the Government’s £3 billion national bus strategy to help areas such as Cumbria, Cumbria County Council received an additional £1.5 million to enhance provision …..."
Neil Hudson - View Speech

View all Neil Hudson (Con - Epping Forest) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions
Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 09 Mar 2022
Oral Answers to Questions

"We know that viruses and many infectious agents do not stick to international, let alone domestic, borders, as we have seen in both the human and animal health settings. With that in mind, does my right hon. Friend agree that if the UK and the EU were to agree a …..."
Neil Hudson - View Speech

View all Neil Hudson (Con - Epping Forest) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions
Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 19 Jan 2022
Oral Answers to Questions

"6. What progress he made at COP26 on reducing the use of coal. ..."
Neil Hudson - View Speech

View all Neil Hudson (Con - Epping Forest) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions
Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 19 Jan 2022
Oral Answers to Questions

"I congratulate the COP President on his achievements at COP26. I welcome our move away from the use of coal, and that should include any new exploration for both thermal and metallurgical coal. With that in mind, does he agree that the UK can be a beacon to the rest …..."
Neil Hudson - View Speech

View all Neil Hudson (Con - Epping Forest) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions
Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 15 Nov 2021
COP26

"I congratulate the Prime Minister, the COP26 President and their teams on their historic achievements in Glasgow. For me, it was reassuring to attend the conference and see nature and sustainable farming at the heart of the programme. Does my right hon. Friend agree that food production and looking after …..."
Neil Hudson - View Speech

View all Neil Hudson (Con - Epping Forest) contributions to the debate on: COP26