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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will carry out a risk assessment on the impact of the Environment Agency ceasing maintenance of the River Perry.

On the River Perry, the EA has not ceased maintenance activities. The EA continues to carry out critical maintenance work, focussing on significant obstructions, like fallen trees blocking the river channel.

The EA’s maintenance approach on the River Perry is to focus on specific communities at risk of flooding as this is found to offer the greatest benefit in reducing flood risk.

The primary responsibility for river maintenance rests with individual landowners. The Environment Agency (EA) prioritises its public funded maintenance activities on main rivers, focussing efforts where they have the greatest benefit.