Government ‘failing’ to protect flood-risk areas, say MPs

The government is failing to protect communities at risk of flooding, a new report from the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee says.

It warns that a reactive approach to funding for flood defence exposes the government’s lack of long-term strategic planning to manage flood risk.

The Committee, set up after the winter 2013/14 floods, criticises the way that state funding fluctuates year-on-year.

Mary Creagh MP, chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, said: “We know that flooding is projected to get worse and occur more frequently because of climate change, so it just isn’t good enough for government to react to flooding events as they occur. Communities at risk deserve certainty from government.”

The Committee also found that the condition of critical flood defences was in decline. It pointed out that “the independent Worsfold review demonstrated a relationship between flood maintenance spending and the good condition of critical flood defences. As the money required to maintain these defences was cut, the number of defences which met the Environment Agency’s required condition also declined.”

Creagh said: “The government needs to put money into the upkeep of existing flood defences as well as investing in new defences. Failure to do so can have terrible consequences for residents and businesses when defences fail.

“Any decline in the condition of critical flood defences represents an unacceptable risk to local communities in flood prone areas. We urge the government to go beyond its current target and aim to have virtually all its critical assets meeting the Environment Agency’s required condition by 2019.”

The Committee is also concerned that the government does not know how prepared local authorities are for mitigating future flood events or whether their flood plans (if they have them) are fit for purpose. It said “the extent to which the Environment Agency’s advice on whether, or how, to build in high flood-risk areas, is not systematically monitored, reported or followed up through the planning system”.

Since the Committee was established, further severe flooding affected the north of England and Wales and parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland during December 2015 and January 2016, with insured losses totalling £1.3bn.

Aecom water director Jon Robinson said: “Mitigating the impact of climate change necessitates new ways of thinking, underpinned by a sustained stream of funding. The government’s six-year capital investment programme for flood defences, delivered by the Environment Agency and its partners, should help address the stop-start approach to funding. It allows schemes to be packaged, which enables more efficient delivery by both the client and suppliers. There is a clear delivery route with money directed with due consideration of benefits.

“But it is important the programme is not back-end loaded with the bulk of construction occurring in years five and six. Design, maintenance and construction must be a continuous process in order to achieve the required outcomes.

“Changes in our climate are only likely to increase pressure on flood defences over the coming decades. Ultimately, funding may therefore need to be increased in order to meet the escalating demand.”