As First Minister of Wales and MP for Shropshire and Staffordshire, a lot of the people that I care about and represent have been hit by the recent floodings that came over the United Kingdom.

Yesterday morning I have visited Pontypridd in South Wales as First Minister of Wales and I have been able to meet some of the people that were hit hard by the recent floodings. Pontypridd has been hit hard by these floods, walking through Taff Street, seeing all those businesses that are underwater, it was a horrible sight. Speaking to the owners of the businesses and the houses in the area, they told me that some weren’t able to get flood insurances. The Welsh Government and their local councils are going to assist them in rebuilding their properties.

I can say that these events, caused by a changing climate and heavy rainfall, show us that we need to do more for Wales to protect these people. Therefore, the Minister for the Environment and I will be meeting shortly with the Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management, to see how we can implement similar projects and structures in Wales to prevent such floods again.

In the afternoon I have visited Ironbridge, one of the towns hit the hardest in Shropshire. Situated on the brinks of the Severn, Ironbridge has been hit hard by the floods and emergency personnel have been busy day and night to secure the safety of the people of Ironbridge and other towns hit by the floods of the Severn. I want to thank them for their help and support for the people I represent.

I have seen the damages that have been caused by these floods, houses that have several inches of water inside of them, people’s belongings drowned and floating inside their houses and sometimes outside of them. I have been lucky to speak to some of the people that have been hit by these events and their stories of waking up in the middle of the night, not knowing if they’re able to stay inside of their home or if they have to stay somewhere else.

I know that my Rt Hon Friend, the Environment Secretary, is looking into solutions for these issues and I hope that together we can ensure that we never have to happen again and I invite all of my colleagues to visit the areas affected by these floods.