To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action has been taken by (a) the Inland Drainage Board and (b) the Environment Agency to stop the backing up of (i) Saundby Beck, (ii) Wheatley Beck and (iii) Leverton Beck. (181994)

[holding answer 25 January 2008]: The Environment Agency identified that the pointing flood doors on the outfall of the Saundby Beck into the River Trent were leaking. Subject to weather conditions, River Trent levels and heights of the tides, the Environment Agency will replace the gates by the end of March 2008. The Environment Agency will also install a penstock behind the gates that can be closed in the future, in the event that they either fail to operate or leak.

The Environment Agency has completed a detailed engineering inspection of the pointing flood doors on the outfall of the Wheatley Beck into the River Trent. The doors were found to be in a poorer condition than expected and of a non-standard design. The Environment Agency has replaced one of the doors with a fixed plate, to allow contractors to use it as a template. Subject to weather conditions, River Trent levels and heights of the tides, the Environment Agency will replace the gates before the end of March 2008.

Leverton Beck is outside the remit of the Environment Agency as it is not classified as main river.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidelines on managing flood risk his Department has issued to (a) local education authorities, (b) local authority social services departments, (c) the Highways Agency, (d) Network Rail and (e) utilities companies. (182933)

DEFRA and the Environment Agency produce flood risk information and general advice through a range of media. Since the Civil Contingencies Act (CCA 2004) was introduced, my Department has contributed to a significant amount of national guidance prepared by the Cabinet Office on managing risks, including flooding. This guidance is for the wider emergency planning community and is accessible on the UK resilience website and covers emergency planning, response and recovery aspects of flooding.

All local authorities and their respective departments, the Highways Agency, Network Rail and utility companies should be referring to this guidance when fulfilling their emergency planning duties and responsibilities under the CCA.

With regards to local education authorities, the Department for Children, Schools and Families has developed a series of web pages giving advice on how schools can cope with emergencies, one of which is on flooding.