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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with (a) the Environment Agency and (b) Dorset Council on improving safety around cliffs in West Dorset constituency.

Defra works closely with Environment Agency officials at every level and provides constructive challenge and support on Environment Agency’s performance and delivery to protect and enhance the environment and serve the public.

The responsibility for public safety around cliffs and coastlines sits with the Local Authority. Local Authorities can use the most up to date data and information on the coast to assist with their planning and decision making. The new National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Map (NCERM) provides the most up to date national picture of current and future coastal erosion risk for England. The Environment Agency worked with Local Authorities, who supplied local data and verified outputs, to produce this.