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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her policy is on river dredging as a means of reducing flood risk.

The Government’s flood risk management work focuses on where it delivers the greatest flood risk benefit to people and property. Dredging and other kinds of conveyance work form an important part of the Environment Agency’s maintenance regime. The effectiveness of dredging in managing flood risk varies substantially for each stretch of river. The Environment Agency is spending a total of £21m on dredging in 2014/15 and 2015/16.