Floods Minister to speaker at ADA Flood & Water Conference 2024

Speakers

An exciting programme of prominent political, policy and technical speakers have been lined-up for this event which will also feature a discussion forum and the opportunity for attendees to pose questions to the speakers/panellists.

We are delighted to share that the following keynote speakers have confirmed their attendance.

Having addressed the conference last year, we very much look forward to hearing from Emma Hardy MP in her new capacity Minister for Water & Flooding within the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs. We look forward to hearing from the Minister on the Department’s future plans for the sector.

Julie Foley OBE, Director of Flood Risk Strategy & National Adaptation at the Environment Agency is accountable for leading the development and delivery of the Environment Agency’s Flood & Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy working with government, risk management authorities, national infrastructure providers and other partners.

Rachel Hallos, Vice-President of the National Farmers’ Union is an upland farmer who works in partnership with her husband on a Yorkshire Water tenanted farm in the South Pennines and elected in February 2024. Following a challenging winter and spring for the agricultural sector, water and flooding are high on Rachel’s agenda in her new role, so we can look forward to hearing her perspective.

Professor Jim Hall FREng, Professor of Climate & Environmental Risks at the University of Oxford, who is internationally recognised for his research on risk analysis and decision making under uncertainty for water resource systems, flood & coastal risk management, infrastructure systems, and adaptation to climate change. He is a Commissioner of the National Infrastructure Commission and will become the 160^th President of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) on 5 November 2024.

Michael Sly MBE, Chair of the North Level District Internal Drainage Board, managing water levels across 34,000 hectares in the heart of the Fens between Peterborough and Wisbech. Michael spent ten years on the Anglian Northern Regional Flood & Coastal Committee. He farms in the Fens of North Cambridgeshire and South Lincolnshire, farming 2,000 hectares, across three farming businesses. The family has been involved in drainage and farming in the Fens since the 17^th Century. Michael is also Chair of the NFU Sugar Board.