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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the increased investment in maintenance of flood defences will allow the Environment Agency to keep 98% of its high-consequence assets in the required condition over the next two years.

This Government inherited flood assets in their poorest condition on record, as years of underinvestment and damaging storms left just 92% of the Environment Agency’s 38,000 high-consequence assets at required condition, meaning approximately 60,000 properties are at a higher risk.

The Environment Agency (EA) is reprioritising £72 million from capital programme funding, for the 2025/26 financial year, to maintain high consequence assets at target condition. This funding will ensure assets are as resilient and reliable as possible and operate as expected in flood events.