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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will conduct an assessment of the value of agricultural land when making decisions to invest in flood defences being based on the value of the asset needing protection.

On 14 October, following consultation, the Government announced major changes to its flood and coastal erosion funding policy.

The new rules will optimise funding between building new flood projects and maintaining existing defences and ensure that deprived communities continue to receive vital investment.

Our funding rules will support farming and rural communities and improve resilience against flood risk across the country.

The old rules gave higher payment rates for properties than agricultural or environmental benefits. We are now giving equal weighting to all the different types of benefits – a positive change for rural areas.