Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to (a) reduce development on floodplains and (b) help people who live in at risk areas adapt to flooding.

The Government's 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 needs to be in locations where there is a risk of flooding as alternative sites are not available, local planning authorities and developers should ensure development is appropriately flood resilient and resistant, safe for its users for the development's lifetime, and will not increase flood risk overall. In 2020/21, 97% of all planning applications were in line with Environment Agency advice on flood risk. In July 2021, the Government published a review of policy for development in areas at flood risk. The review found that there are robust measures in place to protect people and property from flooding and identified opportunities to further strengthen the system.

However, the Government is taking forward new actions in response to these findings. In July 2021 the Government made changes to strengthen environmental protections in the NPPF including some aspects of planning policy concerning flood risk. In August 2022, the Government published significantly updated planning guidance on flood risk and coastal change to help councils take climate change into consideration and make more informed decisions on whether a new development should go ahead. The Government is committed to creating a nation that is more resilient to future flood and coastal erosion risk. This includes supporting actions which can better prepare people and communities against risk, for example by issuing flood warnings, designing and adapting properties and infrastructure so there is less damage and disruption, and creating the right conditions to enable affordable insurance to help with recovery. The Government's £200 million Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Fund is supporting local authorities, businesses and communities to test and demonstrate innovative practical resilience actions in their area. The wide range of innovative projects includes apps alerting residents to flooding, actions to improve drainage and schemes to protect vital sand dune beaches. Other elements of the programme include the Coastal Transitional Accelerator Programme and the four adaptive pathways to support work in the Thames and Humber estuaries, the Severn Valley and Yorkshire to trial and develop ways of planning ahead and making wise investment choices for the decades to come in face of the long-term uncertainties brought by climate change.