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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has taken steps to establish (a) programmes and (b) facilities for training emergency services on flooding and flood resilience.

The Environment Agency is actively engaged in partnership working with the emergency services and the military to ensure resilience and a readiness to respond to all environmental emergencies, including flooding. Environment Agency teams carry out joint training with the Fire and Rescue Service and other organisations. This involves the deployment of assets such as temporary barriers and mobile pumps to prepare for flooding. The Environment Agency’s work with the Fire and Rescue Services and the National Fire Chiefs Council has resulted in the supply of equipment and training to Fire and Rescue Services. The Environment Agency provides evidence and advice to inform the Government and support others to develop skills and capacity. The Environment Agency’s mapping and modelling services inform and warn communities and emergency responders about flood risk.

The Environment Agency also works as part of Local Resilience Forums alongside all emergency responders and other partners. Together they plan for prevention, control and reducing the impact of flooding on local communities. A similar approach is being developed with all emergency services, embedding the Joint Emergency Services Principles - ‘working together, saving lives, reducing harm’. The Environment Agency and Met Office work in collaboration as part of the Flood Forecasting Centre to provide a five-day national flood risk assessment. This provides a strategic summary for planning purposes, outlining all the relevant information from across England.