Burnham-On-Sea’s MP Tessa Munt has this week quizzed David Cameron on what is being done to protect local farmland from flooding.
During Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons, she asked about progress in changing the priorities of the Environment Agency and Natural England so that productive farm land can be protected.
In reply, the Prime Minister said: “I have had conversations about this issue with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. He will soon bring forward the proposal to make sure that the insurance scheme that protected households in danger of flooding is renewed.”
“We also need to make sure we protect farmland in the way the Honourable Lady says, not least because, with global populations rising, the demand for food production is going to increase, and we should make sure we have a good level of food security in this country.”
Speaking afterwards, Tessa said she was pleased with the response.
She told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “This is an encouraging response to concerns raised in a long series of meetings between the Flooding Minister, local farmers and landowners, the Drainage Board, the Environment Agency, the Prime Minister and me.”
“I will continue to pursue a solution with each of the bodies in the coming weeks. As far as I can see, the remit of both the Environment Agency and Natural England must be updated to reflect the value of our farmland and demonstrate clearly how it should be protected.”
“Without this, the farmers and the local drainage boards are always going to struggle to find the funding necessary to improve drainage and maintain the waterways properly.”
