Debate on flood insurance
25 March 2013
On Tuesday 26 March, MPs debated a motion relating to flood insurance. The motion was moved by Mr Dominic Raab and passed unopposed. This debate was scheduled by the Backbench Business Committee.
Oral evidence from the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, on Flood Funding, HC 970 i–iv, is relevant to this debate.
Text of the Motion
Mr Dominic Raab moved the following motion, which was passed unopposed:
"That this House notes the Environment Agency’s estimate that 570,000 properties in England and Wales are at significant risk of flooding; recognises the efforts of the insurance industry and past and present governments to reach agreement to ensure flood insurance will be made available to all homes and small businesses beyond June 2013; calls on the insurance industry to negotiate in good faith to conclude those arrangements; and further calls on the Government to acknowledge the need to provide some support for those arrangements and ensure that resilience and adaptation to flood risks and other natural hazards are amongst its highest environmental priorities."
Watch the debate and read a transcript
Watch the debate on Parliament TV and read the views expressed by MPs in Commons Hansard.
- Parliament TV: Debate on a motion relating to flood insurance
- Commons Hansard: Debate on a motion relating to flood insurance
How the subject was selected
The subject for this debate was determined by the Backbench Business Committee following a representation by Mr Dominic Raab at the Committee’s public meeting on 26 February 2013.
- Parliament TV: Backbench Business Committee 26 February 2013
- Uncorrected transcript of oral evidence heard on 26 February 2013
Backbench Business Committee
The Backbench Business Committee meets weekly on Tuesdays at 3pm to consider requests for debates from any backbench Members of Parliament on any subject, including those raised in e-petitions or national campaigns.
An MP must make a representation before the Committee for an e-petition or petition to be debated; e-petitions exceeding the Government's 100,000 signature threshold are not automatically allocated backbench time.
The Committee then has to decide how to allocate the limited Parliamentary time it has at its disposal. The Committee's meetings are always conducted in public and can be watched on Parliament TV.