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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 October 2024 to question 6040 on Flood Control: Alverstoke, what discussions he has had with the Environment Agency on Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management catch up funding.

Defra Ministers regularly meet with the Environment Agency’s leadership team to discuss delivery of departmental priorities, including the floods investment programme. We have inherited a programme which is behind schedule due to the impacts of inflation, the covid pandemic, and skills and labour shortages. We will therefore be reviewing the programme to ensure flood risk management is fit for the challenges we face now and in the future. Decisions on future spending will be made at the Spending Review later this month.