Appointment of Bishop of Croydon: 3 May 2022

Press release

The Queen has approved the nomination of The Venerable Dr Marlene Rosemarie Mallett, Archdeacon of Croydon, to the Suffragan See of Croydon, in the Diocese of Southwark.

The Queen has approved the nomination of The Venerable Dr Marlene Rosemarie Mallett, Archdeacon of Croydon, to the Suffragan See of Croydon, in the Diocese of Southwark, in succession to The Right Reverend Jonathan Clark following his retirement.

Background

Rosemarie was educated at Sussex University and Warwick University, and trained for ministry at the South East Institute of Theological Education. She served her title at Christ Church, Brixton Road, in the Diocese of Southwark and was ordained Priest in 2005.

Rosemarie served as Priest-in-Charge at St John the Evangelist, Angell Town, from 2007 and was appointed Vicar in 2013, as well as being made Director of Ordinands for the Kingston Episcopal Area. In 2015, Rosemarie was additionally appointed Diocesan Director of Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation.

She took up her current role as Archdeacon of Croydon in 2020.

Published 3 May 2022

New members of the Committee on Fuel Poverty appointed

These appointments take effect from the 3 May 2022 and last for 3 years.

The Committee on Fuel Poverty advises on the effectiveness of policies aimed at reducing fuel poverty and encourages greater co-ordination across the organisations working to reduce fuel poverty.

Following this announcement the chair of the Committee on Fuel Poverty, Caroline Flint, has said:

I am delighted Liz, Belinda and Anthony will be joining the Committee on Fuel Poverty. The variety of skills and experience they bring will inform and enhance the work we do to examine the impact of government’s Fuel Poverty strategies and make recommendations.

As energy prices rise and the wider costs of living impacts many more families, the Committee on Fuel Poverty must continue to be a strong voice for those living in fuel poverty. I look forward to working with our new members to address these challenges and advance the work to make homes warmer at a price that is affordable.

Liz Bisset

As a previous member of the CFP (1 December 2016 to 30 September 2020), Liz Bisset oversaw the research on the impact of Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards in the Private Rented Sector.

Liz currently works as Vice-Chair for a Housing Association and is actively engaged in debates around the timing and effectiveness of technological developments to reduce carbon emissions and address fuel poverty. She is also Director of a Housing and Leadership consultancy providing strategic analysis and leadership support to local authorities.

Liz previously worked as Executive Director at Cambridge City Council where she was responsible for delivering front line public services and wider community and stakeholder engagement, including creating an in-house housing development function that went on to deliver low carbon and zero carbon affordable homes within Cambridge.

Belinda Littleton

Belinda Littleton works for National Grid and is currently Head of Asset Management, Light Current, Electricity Transmission. Belinda’s work at National Grid has included:

leading a team of specialists to deliver appropriate system upgrades that provide value to the consumer during the clean energy transition
focusing on enabling a net zero future that doesn’t leave anyone behind
setting out the National Grid’s strategic perspective on the decarbonisation of transport

Previously working as an economist at Ofgem, Belinda looked at the impact of the smart meter rollout on vulnerable customers.

Belinda has also previously worked at PwC. During this time she worked with the former Department of Energy and Climate Change to develop their Household Energy Efficiency Strategy considering the carbon reduction contribution that could be made by households.

Belinda is passionate about designing inclusivity into future policy that delivers against net zero commitments within the UK.

Anthony Pygram

Anthony Pygram was the Director of Conduct and Enforcement at Ofgem (where he oversaw the development of Ofgem’s Consumer Vulnerability Strategy). He was subsequently a specialist adviser to the House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee for its Ofgem and net zero inquiry. Anthony’s focus was on the consumer and structural issues around the transition to net zero, including the impacts of paying for the transition primarily through charges to billpayers.

Anthony is a Lay Member, and Alternate Chair, of the Regulatory Board of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales, the independent Chair of the Code Change Committee for the non-household water market, and will soon be a senior manager at the Payment Systems Regulator.

Flood Forecasting Centre: helping the nation prepare

News story

The Flood Forecasting Centre (FFC) issues guidance which enables authorities to prepare for flooding by using temporary flood barriers.

During February 2014, prolonged rainfall led to severe flooding across the country. The Environment Agency and regional authorities in Berkshire used portable temporary flood barriers to protect communities.

The barriers proved their worth. This led to the Environment Agency acquiring more of them for use in future flooding emergencies.

Rapid Deployment

The Environment Agency now has a national stock of one-metre-high barriers. They can be put in place extremely quickly, with a team of eight able to erect up to 100 metres in one hour.

The barriers are held in depots across the country, within easy reach of communities prone to flooding.

Daily Flood Guidance Statements from the FFC allow barriers and human resources to be deployed in the right places around the country.

Vulnerable sites have an activation plan, which includes information on:

the equipment, vehicles and number of people needed
instructions on how to erect the barriers
triggers for responses – for example, an amber warning in the Flood Guidance Statement
the stages of deployment – such as moving the barriers nearby, delivering to the site and then erecting them

Engaging with communities

As the barriers can cause disruption, the Environment Agency works hard to establish local links and engage communities.

Despite the challenges to deployment and the chance of false alarms, the barriers play a vital role in reducing flood risk.

Without them, flood responders would have fewer options to protect communities.

Published 3 May 2022

The Flood Forecasting Centre: measuring satisfaction levels

News story

Every 2 years, the Flood Forecasting Centre asks its users to rate and review the services it provides.

Aerial shot of the River Severn flooding

The Flood Forecasting Centre (FFC) produces daily forecasts that help emergency responders prepare for flooding.

The best way to measure whether that advice is useful and valued is to ask the people who use it themselves. That’s why, every 2 years, the FFC invites its customers to take part in the Emergency Responder Survey.

Positive results

In the 2019 survey:

92% of responders they were satisfied with the daily Flood Guidance Statements (FGS) issued by the FFC – with 47% being very satisfied
91% responders were satisfied with the service provided by the FFC – which is the highest since the survey began.

The satisfaction levels with the FFC have been rising every year, with a score of:

88% in 2013
89% in 2015
90% in 2017

Flood Guidance Statements

Every day, the FFC issues the FGS. The FGS illustrates the risk of flooding and where it might occur. Emergency responders such as the police and fire service use the information to prepare.

The last major redesign of the FGS was introduced in 2017 after an extensive review of user needs. This led to the introduction of some new features as well as more clarity in the way information was presented.

The survey found that the redesign has been effective, with:

75% of responders saying that the FGS is easy to use
85% of responders stating that the FGS gives enough time to act on all or most occasions

The survey gives some insights into what types of response might be triggered by the FGS. The most common are to:

monitor the weather and flooding situation
place resources on standby
put plans into action

Constant improvement

The survey provides invaluable feedback on how FFC services can be enhanced. In 2019 the results showed that:

two-thirds of responders were interested in receiving training on how to use the FGS
responders who have regular contact with the FFC are more likely to be very satisfied

Since the survey the FFC has acted on this information by:

improving the training available
engaging with customers more consistently

Looking forward

The FFC is now preparing for the 2022 responder survey, which has been postponed from 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As in 2019, the survey will track satisfaction with the FGS and the FFC. It will also include new questions to find out about:

the new Hazard Manager service
how confident responders are using our forecasts – and why they might find using the information difficult
how many responders know and use or new website and training materials

Published 3 May 2022

The Flood Forecasting Centre – thinking globally

As a national centre, the Flood Forecasting Centre (FFC) needs to use the latest forecasting techniques. To remain at the top of its game, it must draw on knowledge and insight that extends beyond the team based in Exeter.

This is one of the reasons why the FFC works with international partners.

Working with the Bureau of Meteorology in Australia

One such organisation is the Bureau of Meteorology in Australia. Through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between them and the Environment Agency, knowledge can be shared. This can open new ways of working to improve services.

The agreement with Australia has highlighted five specific themes to work together on:

flood forecasting systems
flood warning and informing
people, skills, and competency
performance standards
organisational performance

The partnership with Australia has already led to some useful insights that could help enhance FFC services. For example, the Bureau has been using Water Coach. This is a scenario-based exercise designed to improve forecasters’ skills. The Bureau’s Melbourne office can run an exercise remotely with forecasters in different States, so decisions are made in ‘real time’.

Australia’s Bureau has also gained insights from the FFC about the role of operational hydrometeorologist. Currently, the Bureau uses separate hydrologists and meteorologists. The FFC’s success shows how using someone trained in both hydrology and meteorology can pay dividends.

An international benchmark

International collaboration is also now being encouraged by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). One example is through its Assessment Guidelines for Early Warning Systems for Flood Forecasting. The WMO is introducing a scoring system to enable countries to assess their own performance on an international scale. The FFC is still working through the WMO’s benchmarking assessment guidelines. This will identify:

FFCs strengths and weaknesses
how other countries might learn from its experiences

The FFC also sharing its experiences through international conferences. By developing networks and sharing best practices, it is playing its part in the forecasting community.

Practical partnerships

The FFC is developing relationships with other countries as well as Australia – for example with Holland.

Another factor here is driving collaboration. Any North Sea coastal storm surge that affects England’s east coast is also likely to have an impact on Holland.

By working together, the FFC can assess how well its flood models are performing and input into Dutch modelling. In future, the need for international collaboration is only going to become more important. The FFC looks forward to developing its international networks to ensure it can continue to deliver a first-class service.