A parliamentary committee has issued a strong call for the British government to enhance its efforts in safeguarding homes in England from the increasing threat of flooding.
The Public Accounts Committee’s recent report criticises the government for insufficient maintenance of current flood defences and a lack of new construction. This concern is amplified by scientific warnings that climate change is heightening the likelihood of extreme rainfall and flooding incidents.
While the government asserts its commitment, having allocated £6 billion since 2010 towards flood protection, there’s a gap in execution. Initially promising to bolster defences for 336,000 properties by 2027, this target was subsequently scaled down to 200,000, mainly due to rising costs. The National Audit Office highlighted this 40% reduction in November, attributing it to inflationary pressures.
The committee’s findings reveal more than just funding issues. Bureaucratic delays and a shortfall of £34 million for the Environment Agency’s maintenance budget have resulted in only 94% of existing defences being adequately maintained. Consequently, around 203,000 homes face an escalated risk of flooding. The committee argues that funds saved from delayed new projects could have been redirected towards maintaining the existing infrastructure.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the committee’s deputy chair, expressed concern over the apparent contradictions in the government’s flood management strategies. Despite over 5.7 million English homes being at risk and recent storms leading to thousands of properties being flooded, there is a perceived lack of coherence in the government’s approach.
The Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs defended its record, citing the protection of over 600,000 properties and the safeguarding of 381,000 homes since 2015, including over 102,000 during Storm Henk. Nevertheless, the committee criticised the ongoing development of housing on flood-prone areas, labelling it as “unforgivable” without proper mitigating measures.
The committee’s report also points out the government’s failure to clearly define its goal of creating a nation resilient to flooding, making it difficult to assess progress. Conservative MP Anne Marie Morris emphasised the need to not only prevent but adapt to the realities of climate change and flooding, a challenge that requires urgent and comprehensive solutions. David Kempster, Marketing Director at Groundsure, commented:
“It’s abundantly clear that we cannot protect every property from flooding. Climate Change and more widespread surface and river flooding like we have seen from this winter’s storms does not discriminate on location and the Environment Agency (EA) has faced ever more restrictions on its budget to be able to meet the challenge. Yes, £6bn investment since 2010 sounds like a lot of money, but the risks and impacts from flooding have grown out of proportion to the level of investment. The EA has to weigh up the costs vs protection of population, but even flood relief schemes protecting urban areas like in Caversham, near Reading in 2022 have been axed from the programme, alongside many others.
Homebuyers and owners have to think about looking after themselves through better flood resilience into the future. It follows therefore that conveyancers play a role in signposting climate driven flood risk, such as through using Groundsure’s Climateindex in environmental searches. But it’s not just that a flood risk has been identified, but also the trade off of retrofitting flood resilience measures – like air brick covers, non-return sewer valves and flood barriers. This could unlock better insurance and lending terms that could otherwise be denied – and more importantly enable clients to proceed with the transaction with more confidence.”
Please note that this article was published on 18th January and the date has been changed for newsletter inclusion.
