Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 23 of the report of the Committee on Climate Change entitled Managing the coast in a changing climate, published in October 2018, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of that report's conclusions on expected sea level change; and what assessment he has made of the potential effect of such sea level changes on (a) roads and (b) railways.

The Department for Transport (DfT) works closely with its operators and the wider sector on climate change risk assessment, mitigation and resilience, including from flooding and coastal change. The UK Climate Change Risk Assessment 2017 outlines the UK’s and Devolved Government’s views on climate change risks and the National Adaption Programme published in July sets out Government’s adaption measures, including for roads and railways.

Network Rail continue to implement resilience measures to protect the railway and surrounding areas where sea level rise and increased flooding is anticipated. A project to enhance our understanding of asset criticality and the vulnerability of rail infrastructure to sea level rise is being developed to support this work. Highways England (HE) continue to embed resilience measures across its activities to maintain a fit for purpose Strategic Road Network. This includes consideration of coastal flooding and erosion risks as part of their Flood Risk Strategy and future planning to the road network.