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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment the potential merits of implementing recommendation 10a of the report by Policy Connect entitled Bricks and Mortar: flood and coastal erosion risk management policy for a new Government, published on 22 January 2025.

We thank Policy Connect for their report and will consider its findings as we continue to review our flood and coastal erosion policies.

This work includes a review of the current floods funding formula, and we will be launching a consultation this spring. This will ensure that the challenges facing businesses and rural and coastal communities are adequately taken into account when delivering flood protection, including consideration of alternative resilience approaches such as natural flood management and property flood resilience. The consultation will be open to everyone, and I welcome your, and your constituents’, participation.

In January 2025 the Environment Agency commissioned an independent review of Property Flood Resilience. The review will identify current gaps and opportunities to grow the property flood resilience market, resulting in a new action plan for all relevant parties to take forward. Report due in Autumn 2025.