Ministers should delay their holidays to get a deal for affordable flood insurance before the winter rains arrive, the House of Lords has been told.
Labour spokesman Lord Knight said the soaking weather which has washed out the summer and sparked floods in England would mean groundwater levels would enter the winter at the same level they usually leave it.
He warned this meant the threat of flooding was more urgent than normal ahead of winter.
Environment Minister Lord de Mauley said the Government was working on a new statement of principles with the flood insurers, highlighting the announcement by Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman last week that an internal industry levy is one of the ideas under discussion.
Speaking during a questions session in the Lords, Lord Knight said: ?We will be lucky to end of the summer with ground water at anything other than normal winter levels.
?Is it not therefore urgent that before Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) ministers go on holiday, they must conclude a deal with insurers to incentivise householders to invest in flood resilience, for householders? homes to be insurable and for their premiums to be affordable.?
Lord de Mauley replied: ?I agree with the general thrust of what you have said. Like you, I would like to pay tribute to the Environment Agency staff who have worked tirelessly 24 hours a day through the recent floods and the front line emergency services, and the flood forecasting centre staff, and the local authorities, all of whom have been working extremely hard.?
Answering earlier questions, he added: ?We recognise the price of insurance is rising in areas of flood risk and has the potential to become unaffordable for some.
?This is precisely why the Government, working closely with the industry, is considering an internal industry levy which would allow policy holders in high risk areas to secure affordable insurance without having an impact on bills more generally.?
Source: http://www.shropshirestar.com/money/uk-money/2012/07/18/deal-needed-over-flood-insurance/
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