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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial impact on taxpayers of protecting new homes from flooding where those homes have been built in areas of high flood risk.

Planning guidelines since 2008 have been clear that development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided unless it is made safe, does not increase flood risk elsewhere and is appropriately flood resilient and resistant. This was reinforced in the national planning policy framework (NPPF) and strengthened in the revised NPPF published on 24 July.

The government’s funding policy published in May 2011 states that new properties built after 1 January 2012, or existing buildings converted into housing after that date, should not be counted when risk management authorities are making the case for government funding support to build or improve flood defences.