Water Bill (Flood Insurance Clauses)

Lord Benyon Excerpts

Friday 6th September 2013 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Richard Benyon)]

The Water Bill was introduced on 27 June which, along with clauses on water sector reform, included a placeholder clause on flood insurance. The Government’s proposed approach to the future of flood insurance was also published and a six-week consultation launched.

Today, I am publishing the draft clauses on flood insurance to provide those interested with the opportunity to examine our proposed legislative approach. We had hoped to publish draft clauses during the formal consultation period that ran from 27 June to 8 August, but more time was needed to develop the detail of the proposed approach.

Along with the draft clauses and draft explanatory notes, I have provided a commentary on the policy intention for the clauses. This gives a fuller picture of what is intended and provides further insight into the Government’s proposals. This additional information should be read in conjunction with the material published in June. I have placed a copy of the draft clauses and commentary in the House Libraries.

I am grateful for the comments and evidence provided during the public consultation. We received a positive response and are considering the comments carefully. We will publish our response in parallel with drafting the clauses for inclusion in the Water Bill by Government amendment at Committee stage.