Flooding - Letter to Members of Parliament from the Secretary of State and the Minister for Flood Recovery
From the Secretary of State
Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP
and
Minister of State, Department for Communities and Local Government
John Healey MP
27 July 2007
Dear Colleagues
We are writing to update you on the current flooding situation and to set out arrangements for keeping you informed of events during the summer recess.
On 26 July, Hilary provided the House with a Written Ministerial Statement to update you and colleagues on the situation following his oral statements on 23 and 24 July. We enclose a copy of the Written Ministerial Statement, and a brief note on the situation as of this morning.
During recess, the Government’s Inter-Ministerial Group on Flood Recovery, which John chairs, will continue to meet regularly to co-ordinate our response and ensure the best possible support is being given to the affected areas. The supporting inter-dept officials group will also continue to meet regularly. All departments have a duty Minister throughout the recess who will be responsible for dealing with issues as they arise.
We will ensure that Members of Parliament are kept fully informed of how Government is providing ongoing support and recovery in the areas affected by the flooding in June and July. We propose a weekly teleconference lead by Minister’s so that MPs can be briefed by the key officials, the first of which will take place on Monday 30 July at 3pm. Please contact Hilary’s office on 0207 238 5342 on the morning of the teleconference if you would like to participate. It would be helpful if you could also give an indication of the issues you would like to discuss.
We will also ensure the Government writes to MPs in the affected areas during recess, particularly if there are any major developments and of course we will also keep the House informed of progress as appropriate during September.
[signed]
Hilary Benn and John Healey
Page last
modified: 12 September 2007
Page published: 12 September 2007