The long-running row over UK flood defence funding reignited today at Prime Minister's Questions as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn pressed David Cameron on the government's response to recent flooding across the north of England and Scotland.
Cameron insisted "lessons have been learnt" since the last wave of severe floods, arguing the response from the emergency services and military to the latest floods had been faster and better co-ordinated.
He added that spending on flood defences had increased over the past three parliaments, from £1.5bn under Labour to £1.7bn under the coalition and a projected £2bn through this parliament. He also insisted "no flood defence schemes have been cancelled since 2010" and noted that it had been the wettest December on record.
However, he ducked a series of specific questions from Corbyn on whether it was right to cut funding for planned flood defence projects in Leeds, Yorkshire and Cumbria.
Corbyn said families impacted across the country by flooding were asking "wholly legitimate questions" about the government's response and asked the Prime Minister whether he believed turning down the proposed schemes was a mistake.
He added that "flood defence scheme after flood defence scheme has been cancelled, postponed, or cut".
Labour MPs responded angrily to the Prime Minister's insistence no flood defence schemes had been cancelled.
Writing on Twitter, Rachel Reeves, Labour MP for Leeds West said: "PM said that no flood defence schemes have been cancelled since 2010. That is not true. Leeds flood defence scrapped in 2011."
Former Shadow Environment Secretary Mary Creagh added "Cameron is wrong. £180m Leeds flood defence scheme was cancelled in 2011! Smaller scheme from 2014 is £45m including £10m from Council... New £45m scheme only prevents 1 in 75 year flood and leaves Kirkstall unprotected".
Flood defence spending figures remain hotly contested. Ministers argue funding has increased steadily over each parliament. But critics argue the increase in spending in the last parliament was only the result of emergency funding being provided in response to floods, while the government's own advisors have warned current flood defence levels are still below that necessitated by a changing climate.
Cameron ignored calls from Corbyn for a new "co-ordinated cross party approach to flood defence funding", adding that the government was taking important steps to ensure all residents could access affordable insurance through the new Flood Re scheme.
Cameron also ducked a question from Green MP Caroline Lucas calling for the Prime Minister to revisit the EU's carbon targets in the wake of the Paris Agreement and push for a more ambitious goal of cutting emissions at least 50 per cent by 2030 against 1990 levels.
He refused to be drawn on whether a more ambitious EU target was now justified, but welcomed the Paris Agreement as "a very big step forward" that saw all the world's big emitters commit to curbing emissions. He also argued Britain was playing a "very major role" in driving the transition to a greener economy, revealing that 98 per cent of UK solar panels have been installed under a Conservative-led government.
The exchanges came as communities across the country continued to face flood warnings ahead of anticipated further heavy rain this week.
Meanwhile, Environment Agency chiefs will this afternoon face questioning from MPs over their response to the floods with chairman, Sir Philip Dilley, chief executive Sir James Bevan and deputy chief executive David Rooke all slated to appear before the parliamentary environment, food and rural affairs Committee.
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