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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which (a) flood protection schemes and (b) engineering works are (i) under construction and (ii) at the (A) planning and (B) other stage of development as of 16 January 2023; what the expected completion date is for each; how many properties will be protected by each; and what the (1) initial forecast was and (2) final estimated cost is of each.

The Environment Agency’s Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) programme aims to reduce the risk of flooding from rivers, the sea, groundwater and surface water. It also aims to reduce the risks from coastal erosion. Between April 2021 and March 2022, the Environment Agency worked with other Risk Management Authorities to complete over 120 FCERM projects. This better protected over 33,000 properties. A further 200 projects are under construction with more in the development phase.

The Environment Agency expects to have better protected at least 60,000 properties by the end of March 2023.

The programme is subject to change during the year as projects may be subject to delay (for example through extreme weather events) or brought forward (for example in response to additional funding). New projects not originally included in the programme may also start during the year, for example where emergency works are required.

Information on flood risk management assets, maintained assets, capital programme projects and completed schemes can be viewed at data.gov.uk.