PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES - United Kingdom Parliament

1527 Flood Insurance
26 MARCH 2013
Flood Insurance
1528
[Diana Johnson]
Food and Rural Affairs what was happening, I was told
on the Floor of the House that an agreement was close,
that it would be a much better deal, that premiums
would be affordable and that there would be no unaffordable
excesses either, so I was quite optimistic. That was last
summer. Since then I have written to the new Secretary
of State and asked him what is happening. I have to say
that it is completely unacceptable that the Government
have dragged their feet on this issue, which is so important
to so many householders up and down the country.
I have a great deal of respect for the Minister on the
Front Bench, the Under-Secretary of State for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs, the hon. Member for Newbury
(Richard Benyon). I know he works hard to ensure that
flooding is on the Government’s agenda. My understanding
is that the Treasury is now stopping any agreement
being reached. I understand that the Treasury has to
look carefully at whatever public money has to be set
aside or underwritten for any scheme, but time is running
out. This is about people’s lives. People in Hull who were
flooded in 2007 feel upset that they could be left high
and dry come this summer. They have found it difficult
to get flood insurance over the last few years. Premiums
have gone up considerably and excesses are now very
high. I say to the Minister that action needs to be taken.
I was disappointed that there was nothing in the
Budget last week to deal with this issue. There were
measures to deal with house building and sort out the
housing situation, but if the Minister cannot ensure
that householders up and down this country can have
flood insurance, that will be a considerable blight on the
housing market. People will not be able to get mortgages
or sell their homes. I feel strongly that the Minister now
needs to express to the highest echelons of the Government
the view that this has to be a priority. We are now just
three months off the statement of principles ending. I
do not want to have to tell my constituents that insurance
will no longer be available in the city of Hull, so I ask
the Government to get on and sort this out, please.
3.38 pm
Sir Robert Smith (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
(LD): I congratulate the hon. Member for Esher and
Walton (Mr Raab) on bringing this motion before the
House so that we can focus on the urgency of the situation
before us, as we contemplate the ending of the statement
of principles and the need to find a new way forward for
flood insurance.
I cannot think of many things worse than coming
home and finding one’s house inundated with water or
being there when it happens. As hon. Members know
who have experienced this issue from their constituents’
point of view, it is not just water; it is mud and sewage.
It is devastating to have that in the house. However, one
thing that is worse is for that to happen three years after
the last time, as was the case in Stonehaven in my
constituency. The safety net of insurance is one of the
long-term securities to which people look to recover
from the situation. Obviously we thank the emergency
services for all they did and could do on the night to
rescue people and mitigate the situation. Indeed, I want
to place on record the resilience of the local community
in Stonehaven, which rallied round. It was the weekend
before Christmas and people were turning up with
replacement food for Christmas lunches and replacement
gifts for those that the children had lost in the floods. In
that sense, it was great to see the community spirit, but
the insurance response is the issue of long-term importance.
As hon. Members have mentioned, the issue is going
to be of wider interest, as the traditional flood areas are
going to grow and the randomness of flooding events is
going to increase with climate change, the warming of
the atmosphere and its ability to hold more moisture,
making more rain-intensive events. It is thus in our
collective interest to come up with a solution that deals
with flooding, as it is going to be a wider risk, which needs
to be shared. Planning and flood defences, which are
devolved in Scotland, and individual property protection
all make a difference and will help to reduce the risk in
the long term. It is impressive to see how individual property
flood protection can limit the damage on the night.
Naomi Long (Belfast East) (Alliance): Before entering
politics, I spent a lot of time designing sewerage and
drainage systems. One thing that needs to be looked at
for long-term protection is the design standards that are
used. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that we could
collaborate with the civil engineering sector and look to
how we could design our standards differently in order
to respond to the changes in rainfall patterns that we
are seeing?
Sir Robert Smith: It is important for the standards to
reflect the reality of what is to come in the future rather
than to cope with what was learned in the past. The
hon. Lady makes a very important point. The maintenance
and clearing of the drains is also important so that they
can take the surge when it comes. We need to be able to
deal with the debris that goes through the system and
causes blockages, which often mean that the design
specifications have not been met effectively.
Let me reinforce the point that insurance is a collective
risk. As insurance companies have become more
sophisticated with their computers and marketing, the
risk base on which individual premiums are based becomes
narrower and narrower. Coming up with the solution
where we all as a society bear some of the risk of
flooding because we do not know where it will strike
next seems to provide an important way forward. June 2013
is not far away, so I hope the Minister will go away from
this debate recognising the urgency of the situation: we
must provide a solution and people must know how and
when it is going to be taken forward. As has been said, if
people want to continue to mortgage their houses, they
must have insurance, and if new people are to move into
a house, they need to able to insure it and to avoid any
blight on the property.
Mr Gibb: Is my hon. Friend beginning to receive, as I
am, some letters from constituents who are already
encountering difficulties in renewing their building insurance
and particularly the flooding element of it?
Sir Robert Smith: Yes, and the much higher excesses
are difficult for a lot of people to carry or cover. This is
a problem for businesses as well as for domestic properties.
Craig Whittaker (Calder Valley) (Con): Last summer,
some of my Calder Valley constituents were flooded
three times over the course of a month, and they
experienced exactly the same problem—that under the
statement of priorities they are still struggling to get