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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the impact of inflation on the adequacy of the funding allocated by the Government in June 2021 to support the development of the Severn Valley Water Management scheme.

The Severn Valley Water Management Scheme (SVWMS) is led by the Environment Agency and will represent a major change in the way water is managed, by reducing not only flood risk but also securing water resources for the future, benefitting and improving water quality, natural assets and the environment. The Government is investing over £34 million from the Flood Defence Grant-in-Aid and Economic Recovery Funding for projects in the scheme and the wider Severn catchment.

Higher than expected inflation is causing challenges to the delivery of all infrastructure programmes. Defra and the Environment Agency are currently undertaking an assessment of the potential impact of inflation on the £5.2 billion 2021-2027 capital investment programme for Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management. The Environment Agency retains an oversight of the SVWMS project and its expenditure to ensure that it is being undertaken in an effective manner.