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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support her Department provides to communities affected by flooding in West Dorset constituency.

Defra provides a wide range of support to rural communities affected by flooding. Typically, in response to flooding there will be a multi-partner strategic command, at which the Environment Agency (EA) and Dorset Council play a lead coordination role. The Department also funds long term resilience measures, including individual property flood resilience.

During the recent flooding, the EA launched a new bespoke online engagement site for Dorset to give clear guidance, real time updates, and recovery support for communities facing groundwater impacts. The EA operates and maintains several flood alleviation schemes across West Dorset and has planned engagement events for Spring/Summer 2026 with professional partners to help strengthen community resilience.

Across England, Government is investing at least £10.5 billion until 2036 to construct new flood schemes and repair existing defences. This record investment will benefit nearly 900,000 properties over ten years.