Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions officials of his Department have had with representatives of local authorities in areas affected by Storm Christoph.

In response to Storm Christoph, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) activated the National Flood Response Centre (NFRC). This centre brings together government departments and agencies to ensure that central Government has a clear picture of the latest situation and facilitates swift decision making.

The NFRC ensured there was timely two-way flow of information between the national and local level. This was predominately through the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, who was in regular contact with local authorities and Local Resilience Forums, ensuring that (a) decisions made at the national level were based on accurate information from the regional and local level, and (b) that the local response had sufficient resources to support the response and recovery.

The Environment Agency, an arm's length body under Defra, operates in local areas and was represented at the NFRC and on the Local Resilience Forums, alongside emergency services and other flood resilience partners.