Speeches by Buckley.

“We heard in a previous panel, on another day, about other types of impact, such as social impacts. You might have a village with one shop or one school, and that whole village then becomes isolated through lack of access to public transport. Do you think that that is another criterion?”

“It has taken you a long time to answer that question. You can understand people’s frustration. Even you took a long time to get to the bottom of who is responsible, who we should contact and who does what, because it is incredibly complicated. That is what residents are telling us every day. We need to tidy that up. My…”

“There is water in my home. There is some coming from a drain and there is some coming from the river next to my home. Who do I call first?”

“I know. I am asking you, as the expert, whether I should call the Environment Agency the next time that happens. Who should I contact?”

“My question is who is responsible.”

“Who do you think is responsible in that scenario? You are an expert in this room. If that were to happen again today, to me, who would you advise me to contact? Who is responsible in that scenario?”

“Do you feel that the Environment Agency takes responsibility in those scenarios?”

“Do you recognise the relationship there? Well-maintained assets could be a really cheap preventative piece, instead of allowing things to fail.”

“They are very helpful. I hope that they are not a lucky few examples or the exception that proves the rule. We received a lot of written evidence for this inquiry that repeated the first half of your message. There are strategic requirements and duties on different agencies and bodies to collaborate and work together, …”

“That would certainly be very welcome. It certainly speaks to what the residents were telling us: that they are ready for that engagement, but they feel that no one is listening. What they really want to know, Ms Foley, is how well you, as agencies and authorities, collaborate with each other in practice to deliver floo…”

“That is a very helpful recommendation.”

“What do you think, Ms Foley?”

“I do not know if you were listening, but in the previous panel the residents told us that agencies do not take responsibility. They push it on to all the other agencies. So far, each of you has talked about other agencies that are responsible. Are the residents right?”

“How would you like that to change? If you were in charge, how would you organise this?”

“Just to be clear, the same council that told you to move your car is giving you a parking fine.”

“That is really helpful. My final question is to Ms Connor: to what extent do you feel that your group’s knowledge and experience has been listened to or used by local authorities, agencies or national bodies, and what could help to improve that relationship?”

“It is about remuneration. You also talked in your evidence about training. I noticed also that one of the other flood action groups, at Watton and Saham, talked about a national handbook for each community, so, again, you have that consistency. What were your views on that?”

“It is really interesting. That has come up a few times now: the inconsistency in how things operate, because we are relying on volunteers? You have inconsistency of geography, and then you have that inconsistency, where people are getting on with their lives. It waxes and wanes around the regularity of the flooding. I …”

“Ms Long-Dhonau, what challenges are there in trying to organise or sustain a local flood group? What would make it easier for communities to take action?”

“Could I ask the same question of you, Ms Connor? What has helped your community to come together to prepare for flooding? What kinds of support or partnerships have made the biggest difference?”