Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Independent - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding his Department allocated to councils in England to carry out recommendations of flood investigation reports under section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 in (a) 2021/22, (b) 2022/23, (c) 2023/24 and (d) 2024/25.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, lead local flood authorities must investigate flood incidents to the extent that they consider it necessary or appropriate, publish the results and notify relevant risk management authorities. These investigations help to improve knowledge and raise awareness of local flooding and inform local flood strategies and investment.
The Local Government Settlement provides funding for local authorities and the services they deliver. This includes the management of local flood risk and flood investigations.
Flood investigations could be used to identify and support new flood projects, which could secure funding from the government’s record £2.65 billion investment programme.
Defra has worked with lead local flood authorities to develop non-statutory guidance for carrying out flood investigations. The guidance was published in April 2025 and provides a best practice framework for producing clear and consistent reports. It can be found on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/investigating-a-flood-guidance-for-lead-local-flood-authorities/investigating-a-flood-guidance-for-lead-local-flood-authorities.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Independent - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding his Department will allocate to councils in England to carry out recommendations of flood investigation reports under section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 in (a) 2025/26, (b) 2026/27 and (c) 2027/28.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, lead local flood authorities must investigate flood incidents to the extent that they consider it necessary or appropriate, publish the results and notify relevant risk management authorities. These investigations help to improve knowledge and raise awareness of local flooding and inform local flood strategies and investment.
The Local Government Settlement provides funding for local authorities and the services they deliver. This includes the management of local flood risk and flood investigations.
Flood investigations could be used to identify and support new flood projects, which could secure funding from the government’s record £2.65 billion investment programme.
Defra has worked with lead local flood authorities to develop non-statutory guidance for carrying out flood investigations. The guidance was published in April 2025 and provides a best practice framework for producing clear and consistent reports. It can be found on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/investigating-a-flood-guidance-for-lead-local-flood-authorities/investigating-a-flood-guidance-for-lead-local-flood-authorities.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Independent - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
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 is taking to help reduce the risk of river bank failure in cases of heavy rainfall.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) maintains a wide range of flood and coastal risk management (FCRM) assets, which reduce the risk of flooding to people and property. These assets include embankments, pumping stations and flood gates.
The EA inspects and reports on the condition of flood risk management assets in England. This includes our own and third-party assets that work together to protect people and property. Where assets are below required condition then the EA assesses their structural integrity and if there is concern, they make plans to repair those assets. Occasionally the EA is required to exercise their emergency powers to undertake urgent work to repair failing or failed assets that pose a risk to serious flooding.
This year, approximately £200 million is allocated for asset management, with an additional £72 million repurposed to support the maintenance and repair of our most critical assets. Together, these measures significantly enhance our ability to manage flood risks and ensure public safety.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Independent - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications for Flood Risk Activity Permits were made in 2024.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Flood Risk Activity Permits are issued under the Environmental Permitting for work:
In 2024, the Environment Agency received 2191 permit applications for Flood Risk Activities. Approximately 3% of these met the threshold to qualify for a Standard Rules Permit and 97% required a Bespoke Permit.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Independent - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many Flood Risk Activity Permits were issued in 2024.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Flood Risk Activity Permits are issued under the Environmental Permitting for work:
In 2024, the Environment Agency received 2191 permit applications for Flood Risk Activities. Approximately 3% of these met the threshold to qualify for a Standard Rules Permit and 97% required a Bespoke Permit.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Independent - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
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 is taking to support landowners with riparian rights.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Working with partners and stakeholders, the Environment Agency (EA) published new guidance for riparian landowners in 2024 on Your Watercourse: rights and roles.
This new, easily accessible guidance aims to increase riparian landowners understanding of their roles and responsibilities. The guidance is assisting local teams in raising public awareness at events and during in person conversations with riparian owners. Information is also available on GOV.UK on both riparian ownership, maintenance and permitting.
The EA has also delivered learning sessions with regional advisors from the National Farmers Union and Country Land and Business Association, allowing them to better advise their members on riparian responsibilities.
Some works by riparian owners may require a formal permission from the relevant authority before they can be carried out. This is to ensure that impacts on flood risk, land drainage and the environment can be managed. Information about this is also available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Independent - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
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 is taking to help reduce inland flooding.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) has a strategic overview role for all sources of flooding and works closely with local authorities to reduce flood risk and provide advice and guidance to support communities to be better equipped and prepared for flooding.
Between 2024 and 2026 the Government is investing £2.65 billion to build and maintain flood and coastal erosion risk management defences. Delivered schemes will better protect around 52,000 properties from flooding and coastal erosion, with maintenance activities benefiting a further 14,500 properties.
The EA also provides the Check for flooding service, giving information on flood alerts and warnings as well as a 5-day forecast. Its flood warning system directly alerts 1.6 million properties in England who are registered to receive flood warnings.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Independent - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to provide a substantive response to the Freedom of Information Act request of 14 February 2025 with reference number 2025-0005461.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department responded to this freedom of information request on 7 May 2025.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Independent - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many private schools Ministers in her Department have visited since 5 July 2024; and which schools they have visited.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich to the answer of 06 May 2025 to Question 46839.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Independent - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's Review of affordability and availability of flood insurance to help evaluate the effectiveness of FloodRe, published in October 2022, if he will publish the raw data of the BMG quantitative survey of households.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The department has no plans to publish this data.
Conclusions, research methodology and materials for the 2022 review of affordability and availability of flood insurance can be found here.
Conclusions, research methodology and materials for the Independent review of flood insurance in Doncaster can be found here.