MP: Flood Workers Not Deployed Over Assault Training Concerns

An MP has stated that flood workers are not being deployed because they lack completed training on preventing assaults from upset residents. Layla Moran informed the House of Commons that the Environment Agency (EA) had refused to respond to flooding incidents in south Abingdon, Oxfordshire. She remarked: “Surely the best way to help angry residents is to be there and help them in their hour of need.” Environment Secretary Steve Reed indicated he would discuss the matter with the EA. The agency, for its part, affirmed that flood protection constituted its highest priority. The Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Oxford West and Abingdon reported that her constituents residing close to the River Ock had already endured flooding events twice within the current year. Addressing MPs on Monday, she stated: “I cannot imagine what they must be feeling. When I visited them in September, they reported feeling very alone.” Moran further noted that a previously promised flood defence system and sandbags had not appeared. She elaborated: “When we asked the EA today whether it would be on the ground, it told us that it could not send enough people – not because it did not have the staff or the money, but because not enough of them had completed a workplace assessment and training on how not to be assaulted by angry residents.” She continued: “Of course staff safety is everything and Environment Agency workers deserve our thanks, but surely an element of common sense needs to be applied.” Her parliamentary office clarified that instances of assault had been documented in other locations, but not specifically in Abingdon. The office stated: “EA officers are only insured if they’ve completed health and safety training. “Not enough officers have completed the training and now residents are again being left in the lurch.” According to the EA website, properties situated near the River Ock in Abingdon were anticipated to experience further flooding on Tuesday. In the past, local residents voiced their frustration regarding the agency’s inaction in dredging local rivers. Jim King of the Ock Valley Flood Group commented: “They will not listen to the local people. The rivers and the streams are so full of mud and silt.” Jon House, who was compelled to evacuate his residence with his partner and six-month-old son in September, asserted that no measures were being taken to avert flooding. The Environment Agency had previously characterized dredging as a “sticking plaster solution”. In an official statement, the EA did not directly respond to the MP’s specific concerns but affirmed that it had dispatched personnel to the impacted regions. The statement further read: “Our thoughts go out to anyone that has been impacted by flooding from Storm Bert as we know the devastating impact it can have.“Protecting people and communities is our top priority and our teams continue to work round the clock across the Thames Valley to warn communities at risk and carry out operational activity to reduce the risk of flooding.”