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 has taken steps to improve the accuracy of flood prediction (a) methods and (b) technology in light of recent flooding.

The Environment Agency (EA) uses flood modelling to understand the risk of flooding at a local and a national level. Its flood models use a range of information to help make them as reliable as possible. The EA keeps its data and modelling under constant review and examines it rigorously after every flooding incident to ensure it best reflects post incident recovery data.

The EA is also investing in a programme of forecast model improvements which will include exploring using the latest technology and methods such as artificial intelligence, as well as technology to make it easier for users to see the likely areas to be impacted.

The EA advises that members of the public and businesses check if their property is at risk of flooding here https://www.gov.uk/check-flooding and sign up for flood warnings here https://www.gov.uk/sign-up-for-flood-warnings.