David Warburton

We are clear that no one should be refused access to businesses or services, including taxis, because they have an assistance dog.

Under the Equality Act 2010 (the Act), businesses that provide goods and services to the public must not unlawfully discriminate against people who meet the Act’s definition of disability. The Act places a duty on service providers to make reasonable adjustments to improve access to premises, buildings and services.

This duty could include allowing access to guide dogs or assistance dogs so that disabled customers have the same access to goods and services and are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled customers.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has published guidance for all businesses, including service providers, on their duty towards disabled people who own assistance/guide dogs. The guidance explains that assistance dogs should be treated as auxiliary aids and not as pets. The guidance is available at: https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/assistance-dogs-a-guide-for-all-businesses.pdf and makes clear that businesses and service providers should allow assistance dogs access to buildings where dogs would normally not be permitted whenever this is reasonable.

Taxi and private hire drivers also have a duty under the Act to carry guide dogs and assistance dogs at no extra cost to the passenger. The Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Disabled Persons) Act 2022, amended the Act to provide any disabled person with specific rights and protections to access and receive assistance when travelling in a taxi or private hire vehicle.

These duties and protections are ultimately enforceable through the courts, but as a first step, anybody who thinks they have been discriminated against in the services offered to them - including a failure to make reasonable adjustments - can contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) which provides free bespoke advice and in-depth support to individuals with discrimination concerns via their website - http://www.equalityadvisoryservice.com, or by telephone on 0808 800 0082 or by text phone on 0808 800 0084.

Our consultation on the feed-in tariff review is still underway until 23^rd October. The consultation document reflects the need to balance sector support whilst keeping bills down for consumers.

We strongly welcome evidence from the sector during the consultation to assist our analysis of the potential impact on businesses in the sector.

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Our National Cyber Strategy, launched in December 2021, sets out how we will ensure that the UK continues to be a leading, responsible and democratic cyber power, able to protect and promote our interests in the rapidly evolving online world. This includes our approach to making the UK more resilient to cyber attacks and countering cyber threats. It is supported by £2.6 billion of investment up to 2024 - 25.

The UK will do what is necessary to protect ourselves through our world leading capability in this area. We are vigilant to cyber threats, wherever they come from, and ready to defend against them. We are continuing to work to make the UK more resilient to cyber threats and raise the cost for those who would do us harm.

The Government is in regular dialogue with the hospitality and tourism sectors and is aware of the recruitment and retention challenges facing businesses. The Hospitality Sector Council is actively looking at this issue and the Hospitality and Tourism Skills Board, which comprises businesses across both sectors, is considering ways to strengthen training.

We are also helping to fill vacancies through our Plan for Jobs programmes, which use work coaches to help match local talent with jobs in hospitality. Our sector-based work academy programme and flexible support fund, and various initiatives, are also encourag-ing jobseekers to look for opportunities in the sector. In addition, on 1 April 2023, the Gov-ernment increased the National Living Wage by 9.7% to £10.42.

The Government is also supporting six Private Member’s Bills which will improve workers’ rights and encourage more people into work. The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act has now achieved Royal Assent meaning more than 2 million workers will have their tips protected when the measures come into force. This package of Bills will help new parents, unpaid carers, hospitality workers, and give employees better access to flexible working.

The Government is continuing to improve apprenticeships, making them more flexible and making it easier for employers to make greater use of their levy funds. The catering and hospitality sector serves up a host of different apprenticeships in restaurants, cafés, pubs, bars, nightclubs and hotels, including for example chef de partie.

The Government is in regular dialogue with the hospitality and tourism sectors and is aware of the recruitment and retention challenges facing businesses. The Hospitality Sector Council is actively looking at this issue and the Hospitality and Tourism Skills Board, which comprises businesses across both sectors, is considering ways to strengthen training.

We are also helping to fill vacancies through our Plan for Jobs programmes, which use work coaches to help match local talent with jobs in hospitality. Our sector-based work academy programme and flexible support fund, and various initiatives, are also encourag-ing jobseekers to look for opportunities in the sector. In addition, on 1 April 2023, the Gov-ernment increased the National Living Wage by 9.7% to £10.42.

The Government is also supporting six Private Member’s Bills which will improve workers’ rights and encourage more people into work. The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act has now achieved Royal Assent meaning more than 2 million workers will have their tips protected when the measures come into force. This package of Bills will help new parents, unpaid carers, hospitality workers, and give employees better access to flexible working.

The Government is continuing to improve apprenticeships, making them more flexible and making it easier for employers to make greater use of their levy funds. The catering and hospitality sector serves up a host of different apprenticeships in restaurants, cafés, pubs, bars, nightclubs and hotels, including for example chef de partie.

The Department for Business and Trade has engaged extensively with the music sector to inform our trade negotiations and to date we have been able to secure a number of commitments for the music sector. For example, with Australia and New Zealand Free Trade Agreements (FTA), the music sector will benefit from rules that ensure that data can flow freely between the UK and both countries.

Furthermore, the UK has secured commitments from Australia for continued discussions on measures to ensure adequate remuneration for music performers and producers and to tackle online infringement of intellectual property rights such as music piracy. We also secured a commitment from New Zealand to extend its copyright term of protection for authors and producers by 20 years. In our FTA with the EEA EFTA, we secured improved access for British touring artists into Norway supporting touring as live music generates vitally important revenue for UK artists and our economy.

The Government’s door always remains open. We continue to talk to unions but any settlements must be affordable and not stoke higher inflation.

The Government continues to put contingency plans in place to mitigate the impact of industrial action in the public sector. To help reduce disruption caused by strikes, we lifted in July last year the ban on agency workers being used during industrial disputes. We have also recently introduced in Parliament the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill to ensure that a minimum service is provided in a range of important public services when industrial action takes place in future.

The Government has been engaging with key stakeholder groups who represent those households without a permanent address. The Government is keen to support these households to ensure they can receive energy bills support. Officials are working to establish whether there is a robust method for these households to provide proof of eligibility, whilst protecting public funds, so they can claim the AFP support.

Currently, over 89% of premises in the Somerton and Frome constituency can access a superfast broadband connection. Over 51% have access to a gigabit-capable connection and 38% have fibre to the premises.

The Government is committed to working with broadband suppliers to ensure 85% of UK premises can access gigabit-capable broadband by 2025, and then for nationwide coverage by 2030. We are on track to achieve our target.

As part of Project Gigabit, the Government’s £5 billion mission to deliver lightning-fast, reliable broadband across the UK, we have begun launching procurements that give subsidies to broadband suppliers to build gigabit-capable infrastructure to premises that will not be reached by suppliers’ commercial plans alone. In the coming months, we plan to launch a procurement that will improve broadband connectivity for premises in Somerton and Frome.

Constituents in Somerton and Frome have also made excellent use of the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme which provides a subsidy of up to £4,500 for residents and businesses towards the cost of installing gigabit-capable broadband. More than 960 premises in Somerton and Frome have received a fast, reliable connection through the voucher scheme, worth over £1.5 million.

As part of the government's £2.6 billion National Cyber Strategy, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is committed to improving cyber resilience across the economy and promoting the take-up of accreditations and standards such as the Cyber Essentials (CE) certification scheme. Over 122,000 certificates have now been issued over the lifetime of the scheme, with over 25,000 organisations, including over a third of the UK’s largest organisations, currently holding either a CE or CE Plus certificate.

DSIT is working closely with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), other government departments and industry to increase the uptake of the CE scheme, including through requiring CE certification from suppliers using procurement levers. For example DSIT recently announced a partnership with St James’s Place which now requires its partners to be CE Plus certified.

The NCSC is also leading a three year funding programme, providing support to help organisations work towards certification. Over the past three months 369 support packages have been awarded to small legal aid firms and charities.

Research to date has found 93% of organisations with CE are confident of protection against common cyber attacks, compared to just 71% of non-certified organisations and 83% report a positive impact on customer and investor confidence. Further research is being undertaken to assess the impact of the scheme and will be published shortly.

As part of the government's £2.6 billion National Cyber Strategy, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is committed to improving cyber resilience across the economy and promoting the take-up of accreditations and standards such as the Cyber Essentials (CE) certification scheme. Over 122,000 certificates have now been issued over the lifetime of the scheme, with over 25,000 organisations, including over a third of the UK’s largest organisations, currently holding either a CE or CE Plus certificate.

DSIT is working closely with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), other government departments and industry to increase the uptake of the CE scheme, including through requiring CE certification from suppliers using procurement levers. For example DSIT recently announced a partnership with St James’s Place which now requires its partners to be CE Plus certified.

The NCSC is also leading a three year funding programme, providing support to help organisations work towards certification. Over the past three months 369 support packages have been awarded to small legal aid firms and charities.

Research to date has found 93% of organisations with CE are confident of protection against common cyber attacks, compared to just 71% of non-certified organisations and 83% report a positive impact on customer and investor confidence. Further research is being undertaken to assess the impact of the scheme and will be published shortly.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) commissions an annual survey on the need for cyber security skills across the UK labour market, which suggests an annual shortfall of around 14,000 professionals.

As part of the government's £2.6 billion National Cyber Strategy, DSIT committed to significantly increase the number of people who have the skills they need to enter the cyber workforce. This requires the clarification of pathways into and through a cyber career and getting more people interested in cyber at a young age. In order to create and publicise clear routes into a cyber career DCMS funded the creation of a professional body for cyber, the UK Cyber Security Council, to create professional standards and pathways that will inform employer recruitment and an individual's career development. We deliver extracurricular youth programmes to inspire and develop future talent, including the DSIT ‘Cyber Explorers’ platform targeted at 11-14 year olds. This complements the National Cyber Security Centre ‘CyberFirst’ competitions and degree bursaries. For those already in the workforce, free cyber skills bootcamps are offered through the Department for Education ‘Skills for Life’ scheme and the DSIT ‘Upskill in Cyber’ programme.

The Government has provided over £2.5 billion in funding to support the Post Office network over the past 10 years and is further providing £335 million for the Post Office over the next three years. This package includes funding to ensure the viability of rural and community branches. Since 2019 funding for the network has been maintained at £50 million a year and will remain at the same level until 2025.

Additionally, the Government-set access criteria requires 95% of the population in rural areas to be within three miles of the nearest branch. The Post Office network meets and exceeds this at a national level.

The Government has provided over £2.5 billion in funding to support the Post Office network over the past 10 years and is further providing £335 million for the Post Office over the next three years. This package includes funding to ensure the viability of rural and community branches. Since 2019 funding for the network has been maintained at £50 million a year and will remain at the same level until 2025.

Additionally, the Government-set access criteria requires 95% of the population in rural areas to be within three miles of the nearest branch. The Post Office network meets and exceeds this at a national level.

Eligible households in Great Britain will receive £100 as a credit on their electricity bill this winter. For Northern Ireland, the Government is working with electricity suppliers to explore how the payment could be delivered via electricity bills.

Households that are eligible for, but do not receive AFP, because they do not have a relationship with an electricity supplier, will receive £100 via the AFP Alternative Fund.

The Energy Bill Support Scheme (EBSS) will provide equivalent support of £400 for energy bills to the small minority of households who will not be reached through the EBSS. This includes those who do not have a domestic electricity meter or a direct relationship with an energy supplier, such as those who live off-grid.

The Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) delivers a £400 non-repayable discount to households with an electricity meter. For those not on standard gas or electricity contracts the EBSS Alternative Fund will provide equivalent support.

Legislative mechanisms already exist which enable community energy groups to produce renewable energy, and the Government has no plans to bring forward further legislative proposals, at this time.

A key priority for this Government is ensuring the music streaming market functions well and that creators and performers are properly remunerated. In response to the DCMS Select Committee’s inquiry into the Economics of Music Streaming, the Government launched a comprehensive programme of work focusing on the key issues identified.

This includes the establishment of expert working groups, chaired by the Intellectual Property Office, to develop industry-led solutions on metadata and transparency. These aim to bring improvements for creators and performers, including quicker and more accurate payments for songwriters and enhanced confidence in creators’ dealings with labels and publishers.

The Government encouraged the Competition and Market Authority (CMA) to conduct a market study into music and streaming services, which concluded in November 2022. The CMA found no suggestion that publishing revenues are being suppressed by distorted or restricted competition and that the overall share of streaming revenues enjoyed by publishers and songwriters has increased from 8% in 2008 to 15% in 2021.

We have also commissioned independent research into the impacts on creators, performers, and the wider industry of potential changes to copyright law in the areas of equitable remuneration, contract adjustment, and rights reversion. And the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation has completed research into playlisting algorithms used by streaming services, which will be published shortly.

The Government also notes action taken by industry to improve remuneration for creators. The major record labels have committed to disregarding unrecouped advances in older contracts, meaning many artists are being paid from streaming for the first time. Many independent labels have gone further, leading the way by setting minimum digital royalty rates across new and existing contracts.

The work of the expert working groups is advanced, as is the research. Based on this, and the action taken by industry, the Government will be taking decisions on this work in the coming months.

The Government has engaged bilaterally with all EU Member States about the importance of touring. From these discussions, 21 out of 27 Member States have confirmed they offer visa and work permit free routes for performers for some short-term touring. More recently, following further discussions, and having sought evidence from industry, Bulgaria and Croatia have also confirmed that they offer visa and work permit free routes for some touring activity. Most of these Member States have confirmed that they offer visa and work permit free routes of at least 30 days, and many for up to 90 days, including important touring markets such as France, Germany and, following close work between our governments and industry, Spain.

Discussions are ongoing with the remaining Member States to encourage them to make touring easier, including through ministerial discussions between the Minister of State for Media, Data and Digital Infrastructure and the Greek Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Greek Ambassador in December 2021.

The Government has engaged bilaterally with all EU Member States about the importance of touring. From these discussions, 21 out of 27 Member States have confirmed they offer visa and work permit free routes for performers for some short-term touring. More recently, following further discussions, and having sought evidence from industry, Bulgaria and Croatia have also confirmed that they offer visa and work permit free routes for some touring activity. Most of these Member States have confirmed that they offer visa and work permit free routes of at least 30 days, and many for up to 90 days, including important touring markets such as France, Germany and, following close work between our governments and industry, Spain.

Discussions are ongoing with the remaining Member States to encourage them to make touring easier, including through ministerial discussions between the Minister of State for Media, Data and Digital Infrastructure and the Greek Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Greek Ambassador in December 2021.

The Government understands that the cultural and creative sectors rely on the ability to move people across borders quickly, simply, and with minimal cost and administration. Touring is a vital part of musicians and performers’ careers, providing not only an important income stream, but also enriching opportunities for cultural exchange across the world. We recognise that there are changes in the way creative workers can work in the EU, and the sector will need to adapt to new requirements now the UK is no longer an EU Member State.

This government engaged extensively with the sectors throughout negotiations and since the announcement of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, including through the DCMS-led touring working group, to hear views, understand the impact of new requirements, and to support working and touring in the EU. We know that British creatives want to tour in the EU, and venues and audiences in the EU want to host them. That is why we continue to work across government, in collaboration with the sector, and directly with Member States to support the creative and cultural industries to adapt to new arrangements and resume touring with confidence.

The Government understands that the cultural and creative sectors rely on the ability to move people across borders quickly, simply, and with minimal cost and administration. Touring is a vital part of musicians and performers’ careers, providing not only an important income stream, but also enriching opportunities for cultural exchange across the world. We recognise that there are changes in the way creative workers can work in the EU, and the sector will need to adapt to new requirements now the UK is no longer an EU Member State.

This government engaged extensively with the sectors throughout negotiations and since the announcement of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, including through the DCMS-led touring working group, to hear views, understand the impact of new requirements, and to support working and touring in the EU. We know that British creatives want to tour in the EU, and venues and audiences in the EU want to host them. That is why we continue to work across government, in collaboration with the sector, and directly with Member States to support the creative and cultural industries to adapt to new arrangements and resume touring with confidence.

The National Curriculum is a framework setting out the content of what schools are expected to cover in each curriculum subject. Teachers use their own knowledge and expertise to determine how they teach their pupils the content of the curriculum, tailoring their lessons to the individual needs of the pupils.

The geography and science curricula offer opportunities to teach about nature and related topics. In science at Key Stages 1 and 2, under the topics of ‘Plants’ and ‘Living things and their habitats’, the National Curriculum provides opportunities for pupils to engage with nature and explore the local environment to answer questions on plants and animals in their habitat. In the Key Stage 2 geography curriculum pupils use fieldwork to observe, measure, record and present the human and physical features in the local area using a range of methods, including sketch maps, plans and graphs, and digital technologies.

In April 2022, the Department released its Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy which will increase opportunities for pupils to spend time in nature. Key initiatives of this strategy include the National Education Nature Park and Climate Action Award. These programmes will not only engage pupils with the natural world, but will directly involve them in measuring and improving biodiversity in their nursery, school, college or university.

On 18 May, the Department announced £15 million in funding will be provided to nurseries, schools and colleges to create opportunities for outdoor education in natural settings. The funding boost will help them to develop the biodiversity of their site.

The Department will continue to work across Government to identify opportunities for children and young people to access education in natural settings.

The Department completed all relevant and required impact assessments when the Children Not in School measures were part of the Schools Bill.

The Children Not in School measures were subject to a thorough equalities impact assessment, which considered the impact on families with different protected characteristics, and a regulatory impact assessment which looked at the impact measures will have on businesses and charities. A summary of these impact assessments have been published online as part of the Schools Bill impact assessment document, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-bill-impact-assessment.

The Department also conducted a Local Authority new burdens assessment in relation to the implementation and maintenance of the register, and the Department is in the process of finalising our data protection impact assessment with the Information Commissioner’s Office prior to the Schools Bill being discontinued. This remains with the Information Commissioner’s Office for consideration.

When a suitable legislative opportunity arises to take forward the Children Not in School measures, all necessary assessments will be reviewed.

Statutory guidance states that local authorities should offer Family Group Conferences to families undergoing or about to undergo care proceedings, with many providing this service before the care proceedings stage. Family Group Conferences allow extended family members to offer their practical support to parents, in order to develop a family plan that meets the needs of and promotes the welfare of the children involved. Under such circumstances, these plans can enable grandparents to maintain a relationship with their grandchildren, where the parents are separated.

A key principle of the Children’s Act 1989 is that children are best looked after within their families. Under certain circumstances, grandparents can become kinship carers of children from separated parents that might otherwise have been taken into care, via informal family arrangements or through legal orders made by the court. In 2011, the department issued statutory guidance for local authorities about supporting kinship carers, explaining that there is no limit on the level of support, including financial support, that local authorities can provide them.

The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care published in May 2022 set out recommendations on how the department can further support kinship families. We are now considering these recommendations, including those to create a financial allowance, and will set out an ambitious and detailed response to the recommendations in the review in early 2023.

The department is investing £2.6 billion between 2022 and 2025 to support local authorities to deliver new places and improve existing provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities or who require alternative provision. This represents a significant investment in new high-needs provision. It will support local authorities to deliver new places in mainstream and special schools, as well as other specialist settings, and will also be used to improve the suitability and accessibility of existing buildings.

As part of this commitment, in March 2022 the department announced High Needs Provision Capital Allocations amounting to over £1.4 billion of new investment, focused on the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years. It is ultimately up to local authorities to determine how to best prioritise their funding to address their local priorities.

The £2.6 billion capital investment in high needs provision announced in October 2021 will also help to deliver up to 60 new special and alternative provision free schools. This is in addition to the 48 special free schools already in the pipeline and 90 special free schools already opened.

Schools are advised against all educational visits at this time. The Department is working on advice for schools on the planning and booking of residential visits when it is safe to do so and in line with the Government’s roadmap to recovery, as set out in: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-response-spring-2021/covid-19-response-spring-2021. The advice will be published shortly.

The Government will continue to work closely with local authorities, businesses, business representative organisations, and the financial services sector to monitor the implementation of current support and understand whether there is additional need.

The Government would encourage businesses who are unable to access support, or who are unsure of the support available, to access free tailored advice through the Business Support Helpline, which can be accessed through the Business Support website at: www.gov.uk/business-support-helpline, or through local Growth Hubs in England: www.lepnetwork.net/local-growth-hub-contacts. Businesses in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can access business support through the devolved Governments.

The significant rainfall event that occurred on 9 May in Somerset resulted in ‘flash flooding’ due to the intensity of rainfall that occurred in a very localised area, causing fluvial and surface water flooding.

In England the Environment Agency (EA) has the strategic overview for flood risk and managing the risk from main rivers, reservoirs and the sea, and lead local flood authorities are responsible for local flood risk management, covering the risk of flooding from surface water, groundwater and ordinary watercourses.

The Government is acting to drive down flood risk from every angle. In March 2020 we announced a record £5.2 billion investment over six years in flood and coastal erosion schemes to better protect communities across England. Around half of the schemes funded by the programme will be delivered by the EA and half by other risk management authorities, such as lead local flood authorities. Schemes within this investment programme in the local area include: property flood resilience measures to be installed at residential properties in Isle Brewers, Nunney and Frome; pump replacements at the Huish, Long Load, Midleney & Westover, pumping stations; and safety repairs at West Moor Reservoir.

Following the 2021 flooding in Chard and Ilminster, the EA in collaboration with Somerset lead local flood authority has secured funding to undertake a number of strategic flood risk studies to identify longer term steps to better manage flood risk in these areas. This work is due to start this financial year.

Our aim is for more people, from all backgrounds, to engage with and spend time in green and blue spaces in their everyday lives. We recognise the important role that volunteers play in protecting and enhancing the natural environment. The Landscapes Review has proposed expanding volunteering in our protected landscapes, and we fully support this initiative.

We are actively exploring various avenues to support and promote volunteer engagement in nature conservation. For example, through our Access For All programme, we are facilitating the purchase of specialist equipment that enables volunteers of all abilities to take part in conservation activities. This not only helps protect and enhance the natural environment but also contributes to the volunteers' mental and physical well-being. The Wildlife Trusts are a key member of our Access and Engagement Forum, where we discuss the progress and development of this programme amongst others.

We remain committed to collaborating with a wide range of organisations, including wildlife trusts, to encourage and facilitate volunteering opportunities in the natural world.

Somerset has seen significant investment in recent years and has benefitted from the formation of the Somerset Rivers Authority partnership. Over £80 million of investment since 2014 in flood risk interventions helps the Environment Agency better manage flooding. It allows the Environment Agency to take pre-emptive action to delay the onset of flooding, to evacuate the waters more effectively. Together this enables communities to be more resilient and to recover more rapidly from flooding. The below investment was delivered in 2014/15:

• £6m on dredging, financed by DEFRA, delivered by the Environment Agency
• £20m on raising roads and drainage improvements financed by Department of Transport delivered by Somerset County Council
• £20m on repairing flood damage to assets from Defra Flood defence grant-in-aid
• £13m on improvements to the Sowy and Kings Sedgemoor Drain from Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership
• £3.5m on Pumping station extra capacity and improvements at Aller and Westonzoyland
• £500k improvements to the Parrett and Tone hydraulic model.

The Environment Agency are continuing to invest in Somerset, this includes maintaining existing defences and also helping communities to adapt and become more resilient in the face of a changing climate. Ongoing investment includes:

• Bridgwater Tidal Barrier scheme – investment of over £128m – Operational barrier by 2026.
• Dunball Sluice refurbishment – total investment of around £3.6m. Delivery by 2024
• Pumping Station upgrades – Project to invest around £5.5m. Complete by 2025
• Reservoir improvement investment (public safety) – Investment Program of £19m – Delivery complete by 2027
• Taunton Strategic Flood Alleviation Improvements – Council have agreed £6m funding in 3 interventions:

1. River Tone left bank defence improvements, Frieze Hill to Town Bridge

2. Raising of Firepool lockgate and defences between the River Tone and the Bridgwater to Taunton Canal (TTC10)

3. Longrun Meadows - optimising flood water storage.

Communities in Ilminster, Chard and Minehead are also benefitting from recently approved investment to help reduce flood risk. The Environment Agency and Somerset Council have secured funding from the Frequently Flooded Allowance fund to carry out investigative studies on what future flood risk interventions are required.

The above table shows the number of properties flooded during the last 10 years across both business and homes, and includes all sources of flooding – surface water, fluvial and coastal. The source of most of the data comes from Somerset Council report produced post flooding which is why the information is not split between homes and businesses. These reports are produced as part of the Flood & Water Management Act 2010. The reports from 2022 have not yet been published, although the Environment Agency are not aware of any properties flooding in Somerset during 2022.

For 2023 the Environment Agency estimated that 5 properties flooded in January and around 120 properties flooded in May, however they are working with Somerset Council to confirm exact numbers.

Much of Somerset is below sea level and many of its rivers are raised above the ground, so it will always be at risk of coastal and fluvial flooding. In January 2023, the Environment Agency put in place the largest temporary pumping operation in its history on the Somerset Levels and Moors. In combination with the innovative way water was managed through the system, this meant that on this occasion, widespread flooding of property was avoided.

During the Spring, East Somerset has experienced some of the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in the area. This has led to roads becoming unpassable, and in the case of the River Cam, around 100 houses flooding. In all cases, the flood protection measures performed as designed, but were overwhelmed by the volume and intensity of rainfall.