Reacting to the Flood Recovery Minister’s statement that he is proud of the progress made since last year’s floods, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Steve Webb said:

"The Government is clearly trying to put a positive spin on its handling of the flooding crisis days before the publication of a critical report by Sir Michael Pitt.

"The inescapable fact is the Government continues to fail those who are vulnerable to flooding, with around 5,000 families still out of their homes a year after the floods.

"Britain’s critical infrastructure is highly vulnerable to flooding, large numbers of new houses are being built on flood plains and fire crews are not fully equipped to cope when a crisis hits.

"Householders are going to find it harder and harder to get insurance and almost impossible to sell their homes unless the Government gets a grip on this issue.

"Until there is a joined up approach to tackling the flood risk across Government, the problem will get worse rather than better."