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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many Environment Agency flood defence assets recorded a change in condition grade between consecutive inspections in each of the last five financial years, broken down by whether condition improved or deteriorated.

The Environment Agency’s (EA) Flood and Coastal Risk Management (FCRM) assets play a critical role protecting communities from the impacts of flooding. The EA has an annual programme of around 110,000 asset inspections, which can increase in-year to 165,000. The EA’s asset register is updated daily, meaning the baseline is in flux, preventing a meaningful comparison of figures between years. The EA therefore reports the percentage of assets at or below target condition. During quarter 2 of the 2025/26 financial year, 92.9% of the EA’s assets were currently at or above target condition.