PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES - United Kingdom Parliament

1531 Flood Insurance
26 MARCH 2013
Flood Insurance
1532
John Glen (Salisbury) (Con): My constituent Sarah
McKerlie told me just a few days ago that the sale of her
property has fallen through three times because of the
ambiguous risk. The current uncertainty is leading to
irrational behaviour that does not necessarily relate to
insurability. This uncertainty needs to end, so that
people can sell their properties. It is a real blight and is
causing major distress to many people.
Julian Sturdy: I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. I
have a number of constituents in the same boat who
bring the same concerns to me.
Given that the statement of principles comes to an
end in June, the future looks very uncertain for many of
my constituents and those of Members throughout the
House, so I welcome the motion today. I want to focus
on a village in my constituency situated to the south of
York, on the banks of the River Ouse. Large parts of
Naburn are at a significant risk of flooding. Late last
year, I was contacted by a Naburn resident who informed
me that, over the past 37 years, his property has been
badly flooded on four separate occasions. In the six
months since last autumn’s terrible wet weather, some
homes in Naburn have been flooded numerous times.
Thankfully, the people of Naburn have a strong sense of
community spirit. They are Yorkshire folk, after all,
and they are starting to pull together to do all they can
to reduce their collective flood risk.
Following a public meeting in the village in November,
the parish council and a group of interested residents
set up a working group to investigate inexpensive and
cost-effective measures that they can swiftly enact to
help them deal with flooding before it affects their
properties.
Nicola Blackwood: I suspect that my hon. Friend is
about to describe a flood group like the Oxford Flood
Alliance, which he and I are familiar with. It plays a
huge role in reducing flood risk in Oxford by coming up
with flood plans, mitigating flood risk in communities
and developing flood resilience. Does he agree that this
is a really important thing to encourage, and that any
future flood insurance scheme must encourage such
developments?
Julian Sturdy: I entirely agree with my hon. Friend.
Local flood groups are very important for our communities.
I am sure that, like my community flood group, my hon.
Friend’s is working hard with the Environment Agency,
the local authority and the local water and drainage
boards to improve flood resistance capabilities.
Some ideas that have been considered include allowing
local residents to have control over mobile pumping
units and sandbag storage and delivery and to use their
local knowledge to protect the most vulnerable people.
We must not forget that there are some severely vulnerable
people in flood-risk areas, and we must make sure that
they do not become isolated by flooding. Independently,
many people are considering making flood resilience
improvements to their own homes.
The hard work, positive action and sense of resolve
that I have witnessed in Naburn is extraordinary, and
the community should be commended for its collective
approach to the problems that it faces. I am well aware
that, as has been pointed out, there are similar stories
across the country of communities coming together to
battle the difficulties of flooding, and they should all be
commended.
Mr Andrew Smith: I, too, praise the Oxford Flood
Alliance. Insurance is one aspect being pursued there.
The alliance has found that just because one person in
one property gets a quote from an insurance company
their neighbour may not be able to get anything like a
similar quote from the same company, because the
companies limit their exposure in these areas. That is
driving up premiums and giving people intolerable
uncertainty.
Julian Sturdy: I entirely agree with the right hon.
Gentleman, and I have been told of similar circumstances
in relation to the accessibility of local flood insurance.
What my constituents fear, as I do, is that their
efforts, which I have just explained, could all be in vain
if the statement of principles ends without a new agreement
in place. Home insurance premiums would sky-rocket
for all residents in communities such as Naburn, regardless
of whether or not a property is susceptible to flooding.
Some people would lose flood insurance altogether,
and, as has been said, mortgage agreements could be at
risk as a result. I understand the need for negotiations
between the Government and the ABI to be private and
confidential, but the lack of any specific details emerging
from the negotiations is fuelling my constituents’ concerns
about how they will cope in the future.
My constituents are prepared to come together to
work as a community to face up to the flooding threat
on their doorstep. They therefore need the same
commitment from the Government and the insurance
industry to do all that they can to protect people from
the worst excesses of flooding and deliver an agreement
that improves the availability and affordability of flooding
insurance where flood resilience measures fail. It is time
for action.
3.57 pm
Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall) (Con): First, I
ask the House to join me in offering our heartfelt
condolences to the family of Susan Norman, who suffered
a tragic fatal accident during a landslip caused by heavy
rainfall in Looe in my constituency on Friday. May I
pay a special tribute to all the people from the emergency
services who attended the scene and worked tirelessly
throughout the day? I also wish to thank my hon.
Friend the Member for Esher and Walton (Mr Raab)
for securing today’s important debate.
My constituency has been one of the places worst hit
by flooding over the past couple of years. The BBC
acknowledged that places such as Looe, Polperro and
my own village of Millbrook were some of the worst
affected in Britain by flooding in November and December
2012. The heavy rainfall resulted in a lot of damage to
highways, infrastructure and homes across my constituency.
Cornwall council has estimated the cost of repairing the
damage across Cornwall to be about £2.5 million.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the
Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Newbury
(Richard Benyon) for visiting my constituency to see for
himself the devastating effects of the floods. It meant a