Speeches by Hinchliff.

“Minister, as you will know, the National Infrastructure Commission recommended a minimum of £1.5 billion per year to manage flood risk effectively. The Government have committed £7.9 billion over 10 years to flood resilience. Given the disparity in the figures, how confident are the Government that this level of fundin…”

“Thank you, Minister. That is a pretty unequivocal answer. It is clear to see your confidence. Can I pick you up on some phrases you used there, though? I am interested to know how you respond to analysis by Flooded People UK that, in its view, average annual investment has been cut because the previous capital programm…”

“Do you have any further response to that analysis from Flooded People UK?”

“Without wanting to guess the outcome of the consultation, it sounds like you would expect that potentially to have a qualitatively different level of outcome for natural flood defences, significantly changing the number of them.”

“Moving on, of the £2.6 billion pledged for flood defences in 2026, £25 million was allocated specifically to natural flood management. Could you outline to the Committee what steps you might be planning to take to secure a better balance in the future between traditional capital defences and adaptive nature-based solut…”

“Do you have anything to add on timelines or processes that DEFRA are currently looking at for that?”

“I have a final question, following up on evidence that we heard from Mr Duffy in the previous session. What plans does DEFRA have on funding the replacement of major assets, like the Thames Barrier, which will reach the end of their life this century? We have heard about the need for decisions on options by 2040.”

“We have had submissions to this inquiry that competitive bidding processes may disadvantage smaller local authorities and community-led projects. What steps are the Government taking to ensure long-term, stable funding that maximises benefits for all areas?”

“Moving on, of the £2.6 billion pledged for flood defences in 2026, £25 million was allocated specifically to natural flood management. Could you outline to the Committee what steps you might be planning to take to secure a better balance in the future between traditional capital defences and adaptive nature-based solut…”

“Minister, as you will know, the National Infrastructure Commission recommended a minimum of £1.5 billion per year to manage flood risk effectively. The Government have committed £7.9 billion over 10 years to flood resilience. Given the disparity in the figures, how confident are the Government that this level of fundin…”

“T8. In recent weeks Ministers have been arguing that vital support for the disabled is fiscally unsustainable because it is forecast to rise to £60.7 billion a year by 2029-30. What assessment has the Chancellor made of the fiscal sustainability of the 107 non-structural tax breaks that are currently costing HMRC £207 …”

“I will explore that in a little more detail. It seems to me that there is a distinction between the mitigation hierarchy, which says to avoid harm in the first instance, and, as I think we would all agree, looking at a wider scale for how best to achieve improvements. But I do not think those are necessarily the same p…”

“I’m sorry in advance, Ms Spain, but I have a series of questions directed at you. If either of the other panel members want to come in, please do. I want to pick up the point we have just been discussing about the mitigation hierarchy and go into it in a little more detail. You have just said that you maintain your pos…”

“You do not have concerns as Natural England that relying on protections under the NPPF for ancient woodland would be insufficient?”

“To pick up on that point, on protections, the NPPF states that “development resulting in the loss or deterioration of irreplaceable habitats…should be refused, unless there are wholly exceptional reasons and a suitable compensation strategy exists”, but a lack of official guidance on what is wholly exceptional or what …”

“Okay. I think that is a really crucial point that a lot of the concerns have focused around. You are saying that although it might not be done by the developer, under the new terms of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill sites would be surveyed and we would know what is there, and what would be harmed by the developmen…”

“Throughout the debate around the Bill, Government Ministers have maintained that irreplaceable habitats, such as ancient woodland, do not require protections under the Bill on the grounds that protections in the NPPF will still exist. You have referred several times in your evidence today to protections that will be th…”

“I would like you to answer the question that way, actually.”

“To drill down into the point about financial incentives for mitigation as opposed to legal, Alexa Culver, the legal counsel at ecological consultancy RSK Biocensus, has argued that the Bill requires that the levy “must preserve development viability above all else, so it won’t be any kind of financial deterrent to harm…”

“We know, as was just described, that regrettable substitution has happened. It may be happening now. What can be done to prevent further regrettable substitution going forward?”