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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of flood defences in the North East.

In the North East of England there are over 22,000 properties in areas at risk of flooding from Main Rivers and the sea. The Environment Agency (EA) maintain over 1,500 flood risk assets to protect communities in the North East against these risks. All EA-maintained assets are visually inspected on a routine basis as part of a risk based programme, with additional intrusive inspections undertaken where required. Where issues are identified during inspections the need for further works are prioritised through the EA’s programme of capital or maintenance works.

The overall investment in the Northumbria Regional Flood and Coastal Committee (NRFCC) in the North East of England for the 6 year capital programme Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management up to 20/21 totals over £100 million. This includes Local Levy and public and private sector contributions, with £48.8 million from Government funding.

The impacts of future climate change are taken into account when considering the levels of flood risk and the level of mitigation required as part of any investment decision.

There are a number of Risk Management Authorities, such as local councils, who also maintain flood risk assets to reduce the risk of surface water and groundwater flooding and better protect from the impacts of coastal erosion.