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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the proportion of the flood and coastal risk management budget that will be spent by 2027.

In March 2020, the government doubled its investment in flood defences to a record £5.2 billion between 2021 and 2027 to better protect communities across England from flooding and coastal erosion. We are in the third year of this Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management investment programme.

Since April 2021, approximately £1.5 billion of this funding has been invested in over 200 flood protection schemes, better protecting over 71,000 properties.

Over £800 million will be invested in the current financial year until March 2024 and the remaining budget from the £5.2 billion investment is allocated to projects until the end of March 2027.