Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to protect (a) rural and (b) coastal communities at risk of flooding; and what steps he plans to take.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is investing £5.6 billion between 2021 and 2027 to better protect communities across England from flooding and coastal erosion. This includes a record £5.2 billion capital investment programme as well as a £200 million Flood and Coastal Innovation Programme, which will benefit rural and coastal communities.
Approximately 40% of schemes, and 45% of investment, from the £5.2 billion programme will better protect properties in rural communities, supported by interventions such as the £100 million Frequently Flooded Allowance and the £25 million Natural Flood Management Fund. In April 2023, the Government announced the first 53 communities in England to benefit from the £100 million Frequently Flooded Allowance. These communities have been allocated a total of £48 million, better protecting more than 2,300 households and businesses across the country. A second round of schemes benefitting from the Frequently Flooded Allowance will be announced in due course.
In addition, the Government recently announced £75 million of funding to Internal Drainage Boards to help better protect agricultural land and rural communities from flooding.
As part of Flood and Coastal Innovation Programme, Ministers have allocated £36 million over six years to develop a ‘Coastal Transition Accelerator Programme’ to trial opportunities and innovative practical actions in a small number of coastal areas at significant risk of coastal erosion, to transition and adapt to a changing climate.
In addition, Defra has committed to review policy on shoreline management plans by 2026 to ensure they remain fit for the future, and are transparent, continuously reviewed and enable coastal protection authorities to make robust decisions when managing flood and coastal erosion risk for their areas.
Found: To contribute to the development and promotion of fisheries and coastal communities in Scotland.
Sep. 11 2023
Source Page: £80 million boost for coastal communities and green shipping as London International Shipping Week gets underwayFound: £80 million boost for coastal communities and green shipping as London International Shipping Week gets
Jun. 25 2009
Source Page: Consultation on coastal change policy. 50 p.Found: Consultation on coastal change policy. 50 p.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he is taking to support coastal communities with tourism industries in summer 2024.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the central role of our coastal communities in the tourism sector.
This is why on Heritage Day in March, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport announced that it will be launching a dedicated fund to support enhancements to our seaside heritage, to help protect and rejuvenate coastal assets which are in need of further support.
At the Autumn Statement 2023, the Government also announced an extension to the 75% business rate relief for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties for 2024-25.
We have also supported coastal communities to level up through dedicated funding under the Coastal Communities Fund, while the Levelling Up Fund has provided around £1 billion to projects in coastal areas. Over £400 million from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund is going to lead local authorities within or serving coastal areas.
Across this Spending Review period, the Government has allocated over £100m to the British Tourist Authority to support VisitBritain and VisitEngland with marketing activity that includes championing visiting Britain’s coastline.
Jul. 20 2009
Source Page: Planning policy consultation: consultation paper on a new planning policy on development and coastal change. 59 p.Found: Planning policy consultation: consultation paper on a new planning policy on development and coastal
Mar. 25 2024
Source Page: Better flood protection planned for Isle of WightFound: Council and Environment Agency commit to approach for long-term defence of coastal communities.
Jul. 26 2023
Source Page: New shipbuilding lending scheme to boost UK’s coastal communitiesFound: New shipbuilding lending scheme to boost UK’s coastal communities
Asked by: Brandon Lewis (Conservative - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will undertake a review of the adequacy of the level of financial support it makes available to people who have lost properties due to coastal erosion.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Coastal erosion is a longstanding process which is the natural way in which coasts evolve over time. There is no right to compensation for damage from flooding or coastal erosion since these are natural processes. The Coastal Erosion Assistance Grant (CEAG) provides £6,000 per property to assist local authorities with the demolition and removal costs associated with homes at imminent risk from coastal erosion. The Environment Agency administer the CEAG on behalf of Defra.
Our £5.2 billion programme includes £1.3bn in defences for the coast between April 2021 and March 2027. This is subject to ongoing discussions between Ministers and the EA regarding the revised programme.
It is not always sustainable or affordable to defend every part of our coastline in the face of a changing climate which is enhancing the coastal erosion process. This is why we have allocated £36m over 6 years, for the ‘Coastal Transition Accelerator Programme’ (CTAP) to support communities in coastal areas at significant risk of coastal erosion. This will explore approaches to enabling transition and adaptation in our changing climate. North Norfolk is part of this programme as they have proportionally the highest number of properties at risk from coastal erosion in England. Learning from this programme will help inform and prepare other coastal communities and risk management authorities for flooding and coastal change in the future.
As part of CTAP, local areas will be exploring the availability and role of financial products or services that can help people or businesses in communities most at risk of coastal erosion.
Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help maintain (a) Suffolk's coastline and (b) the cleanliness of bathing water.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is investing £5.6 billion between 2021 and 2027 to better protect communities across England from flooding and coastal erosion, including around £1.3billion for defences along the coast. This investment includes a record £5.2 billion capital investment programme, a £200 million Flood and Coastal Innovation Programme (FCIP), £170 million for economic recovery from flooding and over £30 million of funding for flood incident management.
It is not always sustainable or affordable to defend every part of our coastline in the face of a changing climate which is enhancing the coastal erosion process. This is why we have allocated £36m over 6 years, for the ‘Coastal Transition Accelerator Programme’ (CTAP), as part of FCIP, to support communities in coastal areas at significant risk of erosion to adapt.
Coastal protection authorities are best placed to understand their coastline and to develop the most appropriate approaches to manage risk through Shoreline Management Plans (SMPs) and their local planning policies. The Environment Agency (EA) work closely with Coastal Partnership East to monitor and deliver the Suffolk SMP to support the management of flooding and erosion on the Suffolk coast. This includes delivery by East Suffolk Council and partners of the FCIP ‘Resilient Coasts project as well as the recent completion of a £2.3 million project protecting Felixstowe Ferry. The EA are supporting the East Suffolk Water Management Board to deliver the £12.2 million Upper Alde and Ore Estuary Project, which will protect Snape and Aldeburgh, and are also working with partners to develop projects for Pakefield, Southwold and Thorpeness.
The Government is committed to improving the quality of our bathing waters. Almost 90% of bathing waters in England met the highest standards of ‘Good' or ‘Excellent’ in 2023, up from just 76% in 2010 and despite the classification standards becoming stricter in 2015. Suffolk has 7 designated bathing waters; last season 5 were classified as ‘Excellent’, 1 was classified as ‘Good’ and 1 was classified as ‘Poor’. The Environment Agency assesses what action is needed to improve water quality to meet the standards set by the Bathing Water Regulations. Action plans are in place at all ‘Poor’ bathing waters, including the River Deben Estuary, Waldringfield in Suffolk. This includes investigations into pollution sources and visits to farms and water company assets.