Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that local authorities follow the guidance given by the Environment Agency on the building of houses on floodplains.

National planning policy on flooding must be taken into account by local planning authorities in preparing their local plans and we are clear they should take advice from the Environment Agency and other relevant flood risk management bodies in doing so.

Additionally, a local planning authority must, as set out in the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015, consult the Environment Agency on planning applications for development proposed on a floodplain and, in determining the application, they must take into account their advice. As an added safeguard, if a local planning authority wants to approve an application that the Environment Agency has objected to because of concerns about flood risk, they must first refer it to the Secretary of State to consider whether it should be ‘called-in’. Between April 2011 and March 2015 over 99% of proposed new homes had planning outcomes in line with Environment Agency advice where they had been made aware of the decision.