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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2024 to Question 17203 on Flood Control, what the potential cost to the public purse is of the University of Hull and Humberside Fire and Rescue Service’s proposal to establish a National Flood Resilience Centre; what percentage of his Department's forecast spending on flood resilience over the next decade that cost represents; and what proportion of his Department's spending on flood resilience goes on (a) training and (b) flood research.

Departmental budgets are set through the Spending Review Process. We therefore do not know budget allocations for the next decade. Budgets are then allocated to Departmental activities.

To protect the country from the devastating impacts of flooding, we will invest £2.4 billion in 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience, by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences.

The Government is aware of the University of Hull and Humberside Fire and Rescue Service proposal for a National Flood Resilience Centre, but there are no current plans to fund this from Defra. Defra understands the funding model has not been finalised.

Training on flood resilience undertaken by different teams and composes many different activities. It is not possible to disaggregate the proportion of the Department’s spending on flood resilience that goes on training.

Flood research and development is funded through separate finance streams to Flood Resilience. It is therefore not appropriate to consider part of the Flood Resilience budget as being allocated to research.

Defra funding for Research and Development projects is declared publicly on Science Search: Science Search.