ENVIRONMENT AGENCY

That this House commends the excellent work undertaken by the staff employed at the Environment Agency in dealing with the floods which struck much of the UK in summer 2012; notes that Environment Agency staff gave advance warnings, repaired flood defences, unblocked drains and set up incident rooms to provide advice and emergency assistance; further notes that the Environment Agency is a category one responder and was described by the Prime Minister as `the fourth emergency service'; recognises that the Committee on Climate Change has warned that the number of homes at risk from flooding will quadruple in the next 20 years; further recognises that the decision to cut the Environment Agency's budget by 10 per cent and reduce flood defence spending by more than a quarter since 2010 is severely limiting its ability to protect communities, respond quickly to threats and predict when problems may arise; believes that the completion of planned flood defence schemes could create much needed new jobs; and therefore urges the Government to reconsider its funding decisions which not only affect employees of the Environment Agency but also those communities in areas at flood risk.