Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the Flood Re-Programme to include properties built after 2009.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Flood Re scheme was established to ensure UK households living in properties at high risk of flooding can access affordable home insurance. Homes built after 2009 were not included within the scope of the scheme due to changes to planning policy in 2006 specifying that inappropriate development in floodplains should be avoided.
Where development is necessary in a flood risk area, it should be made flood resistant and resilient and safe for their lifetime, without increasing flood risk elsewhere.
Flood Re’s second Quinquennial Review was published in July 2024. Consideration was given to extending the scope of the Scheme including homes built after 2009. Flood Re determined that the scheme should not currently be extended, citing the lack of substantive evidence of a systemic market failure. There are currently no plans to extend the scope of the scheme, however Defra regularly reviews all policies, including eligibility for Flood Re.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to help residents protect their property from frequent flooding in South Somerset.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is investing a record £2.65 billion over two years in building, maintaining and repairing our flood and coastal defences, better protecting 52,000 properties. As part of this investment, £72 million is being reprioritised into maintaining Environment Agency flood defences in 2025/26. This reprioritisation will benefit a further 14,500 properties.
Property flood resilience (PFR) is delivered by multiple risk management authorities. We have a local programme of PFR across Somerset to provide resilience to individual properties where a capital scheme is not viable. The Environment Agency have installed resilience measures to properties to move them out of the highest risk of flooding.
A consultation will be launched in the coming months which will include a review of the existing flood policy funding formula to ensure a wider range of measures (such as property level resilience and nature-based solutions) can be supported to improve flood resilience for businesses and rural and coastal communities.
The consultation will be open to everyone, and we will be inviting all stakeholders, including organisations that play a role in flood resilience, community groups and members of the public, to be part of the consultation.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of preventative measures to tackle recurring flooding in South Somerset.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
£2.65 billion is being invested by the Environment Agency over this year and next to help communities to adapt and build resilience to flooding, this includes building new, repairing and maintaining flood defences. Reoccurring flooding in South Somerset (including Sea and Dowlish Ford) was investigated in 2024 as part of a larger Initial Investigation. The investigation has recently been shared with Ilminster Town Council and the lead local flood authority, Somerset Council.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to help farmers reduce the level of agricultural run-off in Somerset.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are focused on working with farmers in Somerset and across England to achieve our long-term goals for farming and the environment.
Nationally, support is in place to enable farmers reduce agricultural run-off. Environmental Land Management schemes are available and pay farmers to deliver environmental benefits, including improved water quality. The Catchment Sensitive Farming programme provides farmers specialised advice to help them reduce pollution to water, soil and air. We also regulate agricultural activities which cause harms and require farmers to take necessary steps to reduce and prevent pollution.
Across Somerset, the Environment Agency (EA) has a programme of farm compliance inspections to tackle both diffuse and point source pollution. Engagement events have provided farmers with a clear understanding of the environmental legislation relevant to their practices and regulatory intervention has been crucial in stopping immediate pollution incidents and ensuring long-term environmental protection. In addition, The EA’s Natural Flood Management Co-ordinator works with partners in Somerset catchments to enable farmers to reduce agricultural run-off and provide guidance and links to funding for interventions.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential risks of building on flood-prone land in (a) Somerset and (b) the South West.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As part of the Government’s Plan for Change, a record £2.65 billion will be invested over two years in better protecting 52,000 properties by March 2026. Around 1,000 projects will receive funding in 24/25 and 25/26.
The Government has committed to ensure we are building more high-quality, well-designed and sustainable homes and creating places that increase climate resilience and promote nature recovery. Flood risk is an important consideration in the planning system.
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is clear that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided by directing development away from areas at highest risk, including floodplains. Where development is necessary, and where there are no suitable sites available in areas with a lower risk of flooding, local planning authorities and developers should ensure development is appropriately flood resilient and resistant, safe for its users for the development’s lifetime, will not increase flood risk overall and will provide wider sustainability benefits.
The Government published a revised NPPF in December 2024. This clarified how the sequential test should be applied to development in areas of flood risk and encouraged the use of sustainable drainage systems in new development. The Government will consider whether further changes are required to manage flood risk, coastal change and sustainable drainage systems provision through the planning system when we consult on further planning reform, including a set of national policies related to decision making, this spring.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to help protect houses built on flood prone land in South Somerset.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As part of the Government’s Plan for Change, a record £2.65 billion will be invested over two years in better protecting 52,000 properties by March 2026. Around 1,000 projects will receive funding in 24/25 and 25/26.
The Government has committed to ensure we are building more high-quality, well-designed and sustainable homes and creating places that increase climate resilience and promote nature recovery. Flood risk is an important consideration in the planning system.
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is clear that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided by directing development away from areas at highest risk, including floodplains. Where development is necessary, and where there are no suitable sites available in areas with a lower risk of flooding, local planning authorities and developers should ensure development is appropriately flood resilient and resistant, safe for its users for the development’s lifetime, will not increase flood risk overall and will provide wider sustainability benefits.
The Government published a revised NPPF in December 2024. This clarified how the sequential test should be applied to development in areas of flood risk and encouraged the use of sustainable drainage systems in new development. The Government will consider whether further changes are required to manage flood risk, coastal change and sustainable drainage systems provision through the planning system when we consult on further planning reform, including a set of national policies related to decision making, this spring.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the support Government has provided (a) before, (b) during and (c) after flooding instances in (i) Somerset and (ii) the South West.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As part of the Government’s Plan for Change, a record £2.65 billion will be invested over two years in building, maintaining and repairing flood defences, better protecting 52,000 properties by March 2026. Around 1,000 projects will receive funding in 24/25 and 25/26.
Defra works with National Resilience, part of the Home Office, to maintain the Flood Rescue National Asset Register, a list of over 100 teams from the Fire and Rescue Service and voluntary organisations with boats and other assets and who are available for national deployment in England, through Local Resilience Forum (LRF) coordination
Government recovery support after flooding is only provided in exceptional circumstances. The recent flooding impact did not trigger the Flood Recovery Framework or Property Flood Resilience Grant. For context, the framework was activated after storms Babet (October 2023) and Henk (January 2024), affecting over 8,500 homes and businesses.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the contribution of water treatment facilities in managing excess water and flooding in South Somerset.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans (DWMPs) are new and vital for setting out how the water industry plans to extend, improve and maintain a robust and resilient drainage and wastewater system in the face of pressures from climate change, urban development and a growing population. Wessex Water's DWMP sets out how they plan to deliver this for the next 25 years. They will be updating this plan shortly and will consult publicly. The Environment Agency is working with OFWAT and Defra to ensure these plans deliver.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to take steps to help protect homeowners from property devaluations in flood prone areas of South Somerset.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As part of the Government’s Plan for Change, a record £2.65 billion will be invested over two years in better protecting 52,000 properties by March 2026. Around 1,000 projects will receive funding in 24/25 and 25/26.
Property Flood Resilience (PFR) can provide homes and businesses the tools to manage the impact that flooding has on their property, reducing damage and repair costs and enabling quicker recovery.
Working with Defra, the Environment Agency has commissioned an independent review of national Property Level Flood Resilience. This is expected to report in the autumn and will provide an Action Plan, that will enable growth of the PFR market so that individuals and businesses can and will take their own action. It will also include actions that build confidence in the products and installations available and ensure information on PFR measures is reliable and accessible.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the average cost was of compensating farmers for cattle culled due to bovine tuberculosis in (a) 2023 and (b) 2024 to date.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
In 2023 a gross amount of £29,450,689.00 was spent on compensating farmers for cattle culled due to Bovine Tuberculosis in England. The average gross amount of compensation per animal culled was £1,454.86.
Data for 2024 is currently only available for the period 1 January to 30 September inclusive. During that period a total of £23,411,612.00 was spent on TB compensation for cattle, meaning an average gross payment per animal of £1,464.23.
TB compensation is determined by the GB average market value for cattle.