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 safety of residents in towns along the River Severn which are at risk of flooding during winter months.

Over the winter of 2019-20 the River Severn catchment saw some of the highest river levels ever recorded. Unfortunately, 1,600 properties were flooded across the West Midlands. The Environment Agency's (EA) flood risk management assets prevented over 14,500 properties from flooding.

Since the winter floods, the EA has been inspecting and repairing flood assets where necessary that were affected by significant flooding. Despite the challenges of Covid-19, the EA has continued to maintain its existing assets and has dedicated teams in place to operate them 24 hours a day. It is also making sure our rivers are clear from debris.

In the 2020 budget, the Government announced a £120 million package to repair flood risk management assets damaged as a result of the winter floods. For the Severn corridor, the EA secured £4.2 million, covering 18 projects. Repair work to these assets is ongoing, but the defences will remain fully operational and will function as intended, including both demountable and temporary defences at a number of locations such as Shrewsbury and Ironbridge.

The EA has also been carrying out incident response preparation and training to ensure we can respond to whatever weather comes our way.