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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to protect cross-border communities in England and Wales from flooding.

The Environment Agency works closely with Natural Resources Wales to ensure Flood Risk Management Plans in the border areas of England and Wales follow a river catchment-based approach. Together they have worked with partner agencies to develop the Severn Valley Water Management Scheme and a plan to increase resilience to English and Welsh communities across the Upper Severn catchment.

The Environment Agency, Defra, Welsh Government and Natural Resources Wales (NRW) work together, and have regular discussions, to deliver a joint programme of Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Research and Development.  Much of the Environment Agency’s research relates to both England and Wales. In 2021 research into understanding effective flood and coastal erosion risk governance in England and Wales was published. This included reviewing the cross-border Severn Estuary Coastal Group.