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 his Department has taken to protect (a) rural and (b) coastal communities at risk of flooding; and what steps he plans to take.

The Government is investing £5.6 billion between 2021 and 2027 to better protect communities across England from flooding and coastal erosion. This includes a record £5.2 billion capital investment programme as well as a £200 million Flood and Coastal Innovation Programme, which will benefit rural and coastal communities.

Approximately 40% of schemes, and 45% of investment, from the £5.2 billion programme will better protect properties in rural communities, supported by interventions such as the £100 million Frequently Flooded Allowance and the £25 million Natural Flood Management Fund. In April 2023, the Government announced the first 53 communities in England to benefit from the £100 million Frequently Flooded Allowance. These communities have been allocated a total of £48 million, better protecting more than 2,300 households and businesses across the country. A second round of schemes benefitting from the Frequently Flooded Allowance will be announced in due course.

In addition, the Government recently announced £75 million of funding to Internal Drainage Boards to help better protect agricultural land and rural communities from flooding.

As part of Flood and Coastal Innovation Programme, Ministers have allocated £36 million over six years to develop a ‘Coastal Transition Accelerator Programme’ to trial opportunities and innovative practical actions in a small number of coastal areas at significant risk of coastal erosion, to transition and adapt to a changing climate.

In addition, Defra has committed to review policy on shoreline management plans by 2026 to ensure they remain fit for the future, and are transparent, continuously reviewed and enable coastal protection authorities to make robust decisions when managing flood and coastal erosion risk for their areas.