PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES - United Kingdom Parliament
PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES - United Kingdom Parliament
PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES - United Kingdom Parliament
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1533 Flood Insurance<br />
26 MARCH 2013<br />
Flood Insurance<br />
1534<br />
lot to my constituents and it also meant that he was also<br />
able to see for himself the damage and destruction<br />
caused by surface water run-off in both east and west<br />
Looe.<br />
The most recent fatal landslip occurred just yards<br />
away from one that took place last December. So will<br />
the Minister join me in calling for the immediate publication<br />
of all road surveys and reports that have been undertaken<br />
over the past four years on the roads in the town of<br />
Looe and in the wider area of Cornwall? That would<br />
allow insurance companies and residents to be reassured,<br />
given the obvious and understandable concern that<br />
there is at the moment.<br />
The House should be aware that the residents raised<br />
the possibility of the landslip that took place last week<br />
when they wrote to the council on 15 January. They<br />
asked:<br />
“Is there a risk of subsidence or landslide on to the back of or<br />
even engulfing our properties?”<br />
They also asked whether they and their homes would be<br />
safe. The council’s response was:<br />
“The site has been inspected on a number of occasions and all<br />
areas giving rise to concern are included within the current works<br />
programme.”<br />
That work programme was due to be completed and the<br />
road to be reopened at the end of this week.<br />
The residents wrote again and presented a 60-page<br />
dossier to the chief executive of the council in February;<br />
they are waiting for a reply. I last wrote to the local<br />
councillor for an update in February, but again I am<br />
still waiting for a reply. A Looe town councillor, Councillor<br />
Brian Galipeau, formally proposed that the town council<br />
should take on the job of securing reassurance about<br />
the stability of Hannafore road and lane and sought a<br />
contingency plan in case of road failure to reassure the<br />
residents, and I am disappointed that the request has<br />
been met with what I understand to be accusations of<br />
scaremongering.<br />
I am sure the Minister will agree that securing reassurance<br />
about road stability deserves to be treated in a responsible<br />
manner, because it can affect the availability of insurance<br />
for those residents. I hope that he will join me in calling<br />
for the immediate funding he announced yesterday to<br />
be used for physical flood prevention measures and not<br />
to employ yet another council officer.<br />
Let me finish by highlighting the situation for two of<br />
my constituents. The first was being charged £200 to<br />
£300 for her flood insurance last year. Her home was<br />
flooded and in January, she was informed that it would<br />
cost £530 to renew her policy. The huge increase in her<br />
costs caused her to look elsewhere, but the majority of<br />
companies refuse to take her on at the moment. Another<br />
constituent has had major issues obtaining insurance<br />
since her property was flooded. She was informed by<br />
her insurance company that it needed a report from the<br />
Environment Agency, which has not given the necessary<br />
guarantees. I hope we will get some answers from the<br />
Minister today.<br />
4.2 pm<br />
Stephen Gilbert (St Austell and Newquay) (LD): I<br />
join my hon. Friend the Member for South East Cornwall<br />
(Sheryll Murray) in expressing condolences to the family<br />
and friends of her constituent, who was so tragically<br />
killed. It shows the importance of this debate and the<br />
need, as all Members have said, for the Government to<br />
get on with the job and provide a solution for what will<br />
happen at the end of the statement of principles.<br />
There has been tremendous unanimity across the<br />
Chamber. I agreed with every word of what the hon.<br />
Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (Nicola<br />
Blackwood) said and with most of what the hon. Member<br />
for Kingston upon Hull North (Diana Johnson) said,<br />
although perhaps not the tone in which she said it. I<br />
recognise that the Government have worked hard behind<br />
the scenes with the Association of British Insurers to<br />
reach a solution, but the clock is ticking.<br />
It gives me no pleasure to be standing in the Chamber<br />
talking about flooding again, as I think that this is the<br />
fourth or fifth time that I have raised the issue in the<br />
House. The key point is the continued availability and<br />
affordability of insurance. A second issue, which I shall<br />
touch on briefly, is the operation of the Bellwin scheme—<br />
that is, shall we say, the insurance policy for local<br />
authorities that are hit by the cost of cleaning up floods.<br />
Before I do that, I want to join hon. Members from all<br />
parties who have paid tribute to the volunteers in their<br />
constituencies who are helping to build community<br />
resilience. Whether they are in Mevagissey, St Austell,<br />
Pentewan or Polmassick—or, perhaps most notably, in<br />
St Blazey—I see a huge amount of voluntary work in<br />
my constituency, with people coming forward and<br />
developing strategies and contingency plans.<br />
As we all know, flooding can be devastating, even<br />
when there is no loss of life. It can have a devastating<br />
impact on businesses and individuals as possessions<br />
and memories are washed away. In the clear-up, people<br />
need to know that insurance companies will pay out in a<br />
timely way and that they will be able to get insurance<br />
again for the future. Sadly, there remains a considerable<br />
danger that this simple aspiration for business and<br />
home owners will not be guaranteed and that affordable<br />
flood insurance will become unavailable in our country.<br />
The scale of the challenge is getting worse, not better:<br />
one in every six homes are at risk of flooding; 2.4 million<br />
properties are at risk from the sea and rivers; 2.8 million<br />
homes are at risk from surface flooding; and 5 million people<br />
live or work in flood-risk areas. As my hon. Friend the<br />
Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine<br />
(Sir Robert Smith) said, with the extent and nature of<br />
the threat we face changing, surely our response as a<br />
society should change, too. We are in an era of climate<br />
change and we all face unpredictable flooding risks and<br />
the potential for great costs. Therefore, I encourage the<br />
Government to recognise that this is not a problem that<br />
can be contained to specific areas; it is a national<br />
problem that requires a national response.<br />
As my hon. Friend the Member for South East<br />
Cornwall made clear, Cornwall has suffered hugely<br />
with the costs of repairing flood damage over recent<br />
years. The latest estimate I have from Cornwall council<br />
is that the cost in November and December for last<br />
year’s floods alone is £7.4 million in revenue and capital<br />
expenditure. The Government have rightly activated the<br />
Bellwin scheme, the insurance policy for local authorities<br />
hit by flooding.<br />
Sheryll Murray: Does my hon. Friend agree that<br />
under the Bellwin scheme’s rules the fact that Cornwall<br />
was changed to a unitary authority from six districts<br />
and one county council has disadvantaged Cornwall<br />
considerably?