Flooding

Debate between Owen Paterson and Andy Sawford

Monday 6th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paterson]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his question. I am perfectly happy to talk about Flood Re; I just thought that as there will be a debate later, and time is short now, it might be more appropriate to ask questions about it then.

My hon. Friend raises the issue of guest houses. We have made it clear that council tax payment is the criterion on which to decide whether one is in or out of Flood Re. I am not totally up to speed on the exact details of the guest houses he mentioned, but he may find that many of them pay council tax.

[Andy Sawford (Corby) (Lab/Co-op)]

In November last year, October this year and again over the Christmas period—[Interruption.] That is the local radio station, BBC Radio Northampton, asking me about this very issue. For the third time in the past 12 months, Gainsborough road in Corby has been severely flooded, and residents were trapped in their homes for a week over Christmas. I have been passed around between the Environment Agency, Anglian Water and the county council, but nobody seems to want to take responsibility. Will the Secretary of State step in to help me stop this pass the parcel and get somebody to address this problem?

[Mr Paterson]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his question. I wish him well with his local radio, and I suggest that he writes to the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for North Cornwall (Dan Rogerson) on this particular issue. [Interruption.]