Floods Bill votes row

1.17.00pm GMT Wed 3rd Feb 2010

CHELTENHAM MP and Lib Dem shadow environment minister Martin Horwood has welcomed the successful passage of the Floods and Water Management Bill through the House of Commons last night - but has criticised Conservative MPs for failing to support critical amendments on planning permission and insurance. Martin is his party's national spokesman on flooding.

The Bill last night completed all its stages in the House of Commons and now has less than two months to pass through the House of Lords and into law before the General Election. The report and third reading stage in the Commons ended at 10pm last night with all-party approval for the bill. But earlier in the evening there was heated debate over critical amendments tabled by Martin:

• The Lib Dem amendment to force government to tackle failings in the insurance market, including spiralling premiums, punitive excess charges and unjustified exclusions was heavily defeated as government whips rallied Labour MPs against it and the Conservatives abstained. But government minister Huw Irranca-Davies promised to meet urgently with the insurance industry to tackle the problems.

• A second Lib Dem amendment to give local authorities a clear power to refuse planning permission in high flood risk areas ran out of time. So the only vote on this issue remains the controversial vote in the committee stage of the bill when the Conservatives again abstained and the amendment was heavily defeated.

Martin said: 'We've achieved many changes to this bill during its passage through the Commons by working together across party dividing lines. This included a major shift in government policy on water bills for poorer customers and important amendments to clearly include all forms of flooding in the bill. So I'm bitterly disappointed that the Conservatives couldn't bring themselves to support these crucial amendments on insurance and planning permission. Without their support, the amendments were doomed and we have been left with a bill that doesn't tackle two issues of huge concern to Gloucestershire.'

'The Conservatives had the opportunity to table their own amendments and push them to votes but they failed to do so.'

'I'm pleased the bill has passed through the Commons and it will still make a contribution to clearing up the tangle of different responsibilities for flooding. But without provisions to tackle insurance and planning permission, there are huge gaps. We have to hope that our friends in the House of Lords can make changes there but that is now a pretty long shot.'