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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she has taken to help protect communities vulnerable to flooding in a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and b) Staffordshire.

The Environment Agency works with Staffordshire County Council to reduce flood risk. In Newcastle-under-Lyme, the town centre is protected by flood defences and covered by two flood warning areas. Across Staffordshire, flood defences help protect major urban areas including Burton, Tamworth, Cannock and Stafford. Smaller communities, including Sandon Road in Stafford and Marchington, have benefited from property flood resilience measures. Further work is being developed in areas including Tamworth and Rolleston, supported by the county’s extensive flood warning system.