Storm Dennis

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:17 pm on 25 February 2020.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 2:17, 25 February 2020

Well, Llywydd, let me just say again that the draft national strategy is available. Anybody who responded to the consultation will have seen it, and there was a good response to the consultation, and that didn't close until the autumn. So, there has been work to do to make sure that the comments that people contributed as part of the consultation are considered seriously and make a difference to the final strategy, which we intend to publish later this spring. So, we're not delaying it unduly. It will be an important document. I agree with what Andrew R.T. Davies and Paul Davies said about the importance of that strategy because it will show how the £350 million investment that this Government is making in flood and coastal erosion risks are being deployed in the best possible way.

And to return to a theme of earlier this afternoon once more, Llywydd, in terms of lessons learnt, one of the things that we will pick up in that strategy will be the need to try and shift some of the expenditure on flood management away from concrete-based solutions towards more natural-based flood defences, where we can use natural disbursement, for example, as a way of mitigating flood risk further downstream. So, the strategy is important, it will help us to pick up the lessons not just of the last couple of weeks but of this whole Assembly term, and it will underpin the very significant amount of expenditure that is already committed in this area.