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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to review the current Shoreline Management Plans.

Protecting all communities around the country from flooding is one of the Secretary of State’s five core priorities.

This Government set up the first ever Floods Resilience Taskforce, on 12th September. The Taskforce marks a new approach to preparing for flooding, and working between national, regional and local government.

As announced at the Autumn Budget 2024, the Government will invest £2.4 billion over two years to improve flood resilience and better protect communities across the country, including from coastal erosion.

Shoreline Management Plans are developed and owned by the local councils and coastal protection authorities. These provide long-term strategic plans which identify approaches for managing the flood and coastal erosion risks at every stretch of coastline.

Shoreline Management Plans have recently been refreshed with updated action plans. This follows several years of collaborative work between the Environment Agency and coastal groups.