1998 Easter Floods In England And Wales

EDM number 1462 in 1997-98, proposed by Tony Clarke on 24/06/1998.

That this House recognises the distress and trauma of those affected by the Easter floods across England and Wales, and extends its sympathy to the relatives of the five people who lost their lives, and also to those whose homes, property and livelihoods were damaged or destroyed; notes with deep concern the Preliminary Assessment into the Environment Agency's response, undertaken by an Independent Review Team, under the chairmanship of Mr Peter Bye, which identifies 'relative weakness', unsatisfactory forecasting and warning', 'apparent slow reaction', 'confusion, misunderstanding' and 'unsatisfactory liaison between agency staff and the emergency services'; further notes the evidence presented in the BBC radio documentary 'File on Four' in respect of development on flood plains, loss of natural agricultural flood plains to drainage schemes, and the future impact of climate change; and as a consequence calls upon Her Majesty's Government to establish a comprehensive independent public inquiry, in order to determine the full cause of these floods, and the way they were handled, and make recommendations so as to prevent similar events repeating themselves in other parts of the United Kingdom.

This motion has been signed by a total of 97 MPs.