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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdown measures on communities that are recovering from the 2019–20 winter floods.

The Government recognises the impact of COVID-19 on flood-affected householders and businesses and sympathises with those affected.

Flood recovery is a devolved matter and in England the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is the lead Government department for recovery.

In response to the flood events of 2019 and 2020, the Government activated the Flood Recovery Framework in England. This framework aims to help people get back on their feet as quickly as possible.

This framework includes the Community Recovery Grant, a one-off £500 hardship grant, available to eligible flooded households and businesses. Those households are also able to receive a 100% council tax rebate (for a minimum of three months); rebates will apply to the flooded property and any temporary accommodation those households are required to move into.

In addition to the core framework led by MHCLG, Defra leads on two recovery schemes: the Property Flood Resilience Scheme and the Farming Recovery Fund. The Property Flood Resilience fund enables eligible flood-affected properties to receive up to £5,000 to improve their resilience to future flooding. Both the November 2019 and February 2020 schemes remain open despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Defra officials are working closely with local authorities to monitor the situation and provide support if necessary.

The Farming Recovery Fund was opened to support the recovery from the June and July 2019 floods in North Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. This was extended to cover the further flooding in parts of South Yorkshire, Gloucestershire and the Midlands in November 2019. The Farming Recovery Fund was subsequently further extended to support recovery for farmers most seriously affected by flooding in February 2020 to parts of Herefordshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire and North and East Yorkshire. Delivery is unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Officials are also in close contact with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) to understand the progress insurers are making within the recovery process in light of COVID-19. In general, insurers are stepping up their use of technology to work around the need to be in properties in person. They have access to the required protective equipment where needed, and suitable accommodation is being found where required. The ABI has been active in providing customers with regular updates and keeping officials informed of the progress on the ground.

Last week the Government published its long-term plan to tackle the risks of flooding and coastal erosion. The plans include £200 million for innovative projects such as sustainable drainage systems and nature-based solutions like temporary or permanent water storage areas which also boost wildlife. These will support 25 areas at risk of flooding to test and demonstrate innovative actions to adapt to a changing climate and improve their resilience.

In addition, up to £170 million will be spent to accelerate work on shovel-ready flood defence schemes that will begin construction in 2020 or 2021. 22 areas across the country will benefit from this immediate boost to jobs supporting the local economy as communities recover from the impact of coronavirus.

The Environment Agency (EA) has carried out approximately 20,000 post-incident inspections following the flooding events in November 2019 and February 2020. These inspections are now complete and the results have been used to plan projects for the EA’s recovery programme that will deliver asset repairs. Government provided £120 million of funding at the Budget in March to repair assets damaged in this winter’s floods, and it is expected that all assets will be restored by the end of October 2020, or the EA will have sufficient temporary measures in place to mitigate risks to communities while works complete over winter.