Flood and Water Management Act 2010

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Main benefits

• Better protection for homes, communities and businesses from the risk of extreme weather as a result of climate change, such as heavier rain and increased risk of drought;

• Water supplies to the consumer would be better protected;

• Community groups would be safeguarded from unaffordable rises in their bills for surface water drainage;

• Improved safety of communities living near reservoirs.
  
  

Main elements

• Responsibilities for managing all flood risks would be clearly defined. Local authorities would have responsibility for surface water flooding – the first time this would be assigned in law.

• Local people would input into shaping local flood risk management strategies.

• Sustainable Drainage Systems would have to be considered for new developments to help prevent surface run-off overloading the sewer system.

• The safety of communities living in close proximity to reservoirs would be improved with modern, risk-based regulation.

• New powers would help water companies better control non-essential domestic uses of water during periods of water shortage.

• The sustainability duty that applies to the Environment Agency would be extended to other bodies managing flood risk. This would mean they would be required to take environmental considerations into account when managing flood risk, in addition to social and economic considerations.

• The interests of water customers would be further protected through a special administration regime, in keeping with other utility sectors.

• Water companies would be able to operate concessionary schemes relating to surface water drainage charges, thereby safeguarding community groups from unaffordable rises in their bills.
  
  

Dods commentary

The draft Flood and Water Management Bill was published for consultation and pre-legislative scrutiny on April 21 2009, having been announced in the Queen’s Speech of 2008.

The draft Bill and the consultation paper set out the government’s proposals to improve flood risk management and ensure water supplies are more secure.

On September 23 2009 the House of Commons environment, food and rural affairs committee published its report on the draft Bill and warned the government that if it "acts in haste it will repent at leisure".

The committee concluded:

"The opportunity to introduce a well thought out, truly comprehensive Floods and Water Management Bill is a once in a Parliament opportunity. With so much of the current Bill and its consultation document still “work in progress” DEFRA must resist the temptation to try and rush through the House a stripped down piece of legislation simply to be seen to be doing something rather nothing.

“In addition, the government is in danger of rushing through legislation that will leave local communities with little influence over decisions about flood and water management issues."

In a speech to the Institute of Economic Affairs on October 15 2009, the Conservative's shadow environment secretary, Nick Herbert, put pressure on the government to introduce the Bill:

"The government seems to have no sense of the importance of these issues…we are concerned that a Bill may be dropped from this final session altogether. The Government will have serious questions to answer if, two years after the Pitt report, there is not only no legislation for the water industry but also nothing to address the urgent problem of flooding."

Progress

House of Commons
1st reading: 19 November 2009 [HC Bill 9]
2nd reading: 15 December 2009

Committee Stage:

• 1st sitting: 7 January 2010 (am)
  
• 2nd sitting: 7 January 2010 (pm)
• 3rd sitting: 12 January 2010 (am)
• 4th sitting: 12 January 2010 (pm)
• 5th sitting: 14 January 2010 (am)
• 6th sitting: 14 January 2010 (pm)
• 7th sitting: 19 January 2010 (am)
• 8th sitting: 19 January 2010 (pm)
• 9thsitting: 21 January 2010 (am)
• 10th sitting: 21 January 2010 (pm)

Report stage: 02 February 2010
Third reading: 02 February 2010

House of Lords

1st reading: 03 February 2010
2nd reading: 24 February 2010

Committee stage:

• 1st sitting: 17 March 2010
• 2nd sitting: 24 March 2010
• 3rd sitting: 6 April 2010

Report stage: 8 April 2010
3rd reading: 8 April 2010

Ping Pong: 8 April 2010

Royal Assent: 8 April 2010