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 plans to allocate long-term funding to flood defences along the River Severn in response to increased risk of flooding as a result of climate change.

The River Severn Partnership (RSP) is led by the Environment Agency (EA) alongside Shropshire Council. It has united local authorities, local enterprise partnerships, water companies through the Water Resources West group, the EA and Natural Resources Wales.

The RSP will deliver a long-term programme addressing water management across the Severn Catchment. This will be achieved through a proactive, coordinated and collaborative approach to flood risk management, water quality, environmental enhancement and an integrated approach to water resource management to deal with the impacts of climate change.

The EA is updating the River Severn modelling and flood mapping to incorporate the latest available data. The £250,000 grant-in-aid investment will deliver a completed model by the end of 2021. This new model will also deliver evidence to support the flood warning service, potential future flood schemes, and will inform our advice in response to proposals to develop within the catchment.

The EA in partnership with all other Flood Risk Management Authorities along the River Severn Catchment is currently putting together the next six-year Flood and Coastal Risk Management Capital Investment Programme 2021/22 – 2027/28.

The emerging Severn Valley water management plan seeks to reduce the risk of flooding from the River Severn for nearly 3,000 homes and businesses. The proposals aim to explore options of storing flood water to reduce the amount of water flowing down the river at times of flood, while also looking at ways to store it for use when needed.