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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the Flood Re-Programme to include properties built after 2009.

The Flood Re scheme was established to ensure UK households living in properties at high risk of flooding can access affordable home insurance. Homes built after 2009 were not included within the scope of the scheme due to changes to planning policy in 2006 specifying that inappropriate development in floodplains should be avoided.

Where development is necessary in a flood risk area, it should be made flood resistant and resilient and safe for their lifetime, without increasing flood risk elsewhere.

Flood Re’s second Quinquennial Review was published in July 2024. Consideration was given to extending the scope of the Scheme including homes built after 2009. Flood Re determined that the scheme should not currently be extended, citing the lack of substantive evidence of a systemic market failure. There are currently no plans to extend the scope of the scheme, however Defra regularly reviews all policies, including eligibility for Flood Re.