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 plans to accelerate (a) upper catchment management and (b) water holding schemes.

Flood risk is a top priority for the Government. We are investing a record £5.2 billion in flood and coastal erosion schemes across England between 2021-2027. In addition, the Government is investing £200 million in our Flood and Coastal Innovation Programmes, supporting more than 25 local areas to test innovative actions to improve resilience to flooding and coastal erosion. For example, Southend-on-sea's Catchment to Coast project will use innovative solutions to improve whole-catchment resilience from nature-based solutions in the upper catchment, rainwater harvesting in the mid, to tackling coastal erosion of historic landfills.

Our Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Policy Statement sets out our long-term ambition to create a nation more resilient to flood and coastal erosion risk. This includes a holistic approach to managing water throughout catchments that considers the full range of actions which could be taken in an area, upstream and downstream by a variety of bodies. Helping to ensure water availability in times of drought and slow and store water in times of excess.

There are many ways to mitigate flood risk; from slowing the flow in the upper catchment through natural flood management measures such as small scale storage or tree planting, using water infrastructure such as reservoirs to create space for water and manage flows, and blue green infrastructure and sustainable drainage in urban areas.

In September 2023 the Environment Agency and Defra announced £25 million funding for improving flood resilience through a new natural flood management programme, which could include projects operating in the upper catchment, and those designed to store water in times of excess. Expressions of interest closed on 10 November 2023 and we will announce the successful projects this year.

Finally, our Plan for Water commits to designing towns and cities for water sustainability and reducing flood risk, with actions targeted at mitigating excess run off. These include, rolling out standardised sustainable drainage systems in all new developments which store and improve water quality, requiring water companies to produce Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans, and considering how planning policy can promote local design decisions and water reuse and dual pipe systems.