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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of flood defences in the West Midlands.

The Environment Agency (EA) and its partner Risk Management Authorities continually assess the adequacy of flood defences across the West Midlands. This includes developing future schemes, maintaining existing assets and operating equipment in response to current flood risk.

The EA asset maintenance programme covers over 3,600 assets in the West Midlands, including barriers, embankments, trash screens and pumps. These assets are all maintained on an annual cycle to ensure their good condition and operational effectiveness at the cost of £3.2 million for 2018/19. 16,906 inspections have been completed on these assets so far in the financial year 2018/19.

As part of the planning and development of new schemes, the EA oversees a programme to efficiently fund, design and build schemes. This currently includes investigating the potential for flood schemes at Binley Road and The Riddings, Earlsdon, in Coventry.

Many assets, equipment and staff are currently in operation at numerous locations across the West Midlands protecting communities and the wider economy from the impacts of flooding.