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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department are taking to collaborate with (a) local authorities and (b) water companies on flood mitigation measures.

The Government’s record £5.2 billion flood and coastal erosion risk management investment programme requires risk management authorities, including the Environment Agency, local authorities and water companies, to work closely together to better protect hundreds of thousands of properties in England by 2027.

Around half of the schemes funded by the programme will be delivered by the Environment Agency, with the other half being delivered by other risk management authorities. The Environment Agency provide support to the risk management authorities, including the latest techniques to build good partnerships and secure contributions. They also provide expert advice on specific projects and will simplify business case development and approval for smaller projects and make it easier to access funding. The changes being made are part of our ongoing programme of improvements to strengthen delivery of flood and coastal resilience projects and help achieve the ambitions from the FCERM Strategy.

An additional £200 million (£153.5m for 25 areas, £8m for adaptive pathways, £36m for Coastal Transition Accelerator Programme (CTAP), and £2.5m for evaluation projects) is being invested in the Flood and Coastal Innovation Programme. This includes helping 25 local areas over six years to take forward wider innovative actions that improve their resilience to flooding and coastal erosion.

The Government also sets its expectations for Ofwat and water companies via its Strategic Policy Statement. These priorities include a resilient water sector that meets long-term water resource needs, delivers resilient drainage and wastewater services and greater resilience to flooding.