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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Partnership Funding formula adequately reflects the economic and strategic value of Grade 1 agricultural land in the Fens; and whether he has considered introducing additional weighting factors for flood defence schemes that protect such land.

Last October, the Government announced major changes to its flood and coastal erosion funding policy, including removing the old partnership funding formula.

Our funding rules will support farming and rural communities and improve resilience against flood risk across the country.

The previous rules gave higher payment rates for properties than agricultural or environmental benefits. We are now giving equal weighting to all different types of benefits – a positive change for rural areas.

We will review the new policy in 2028 to assess its effectiveness in managing flood and coastal erosion risk, allowing us to see if policy adjustments are needed.