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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress she has made in implementing the Flood Re scheme.

We consulted on the regulations for the Flood Reinsurance Scheme (Flood Re) over the summer. The regulations are necessary for the insurance industry to implement Flood Re in 2015 and cover the legal framework around the Flood Re Scheme, its funding and its administration. The Government response was published on 18 December. We have reached agreement with the insurance industry on a number of matters on how Flood Re will operate, thus enabling the legislation to be laid in Parliament this year, and once approved by the financial regulators, enable Flood Re to operate as a reinsurer.