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 recent bids for Flood Resilience funding for projects in the Borough of Sefton.

25 projects across England were selected to receive a share of £150 million to demonstrate how practical innovative actions can work to improve communities' resilience to flooding and coastal change.

79 eligible expressions of interest (EOIs) were received, and independently assessed by a panel of experts. Two EOI proposals were received from project teams in Sefton, one of which will receive funding from this programme.

The project approved for funding in Sefton ( Ecological Community Owned Coastal Buffer Strips) is being led by Wyre Council. Sefton Council is a key partner. This project will deliver actions across the North West coast, including Formby, to improve resilience to flooding in the area.

The Environment Agency provided feedback to the lead officer at Sefton Council on 26 April 2021 to help the team identify the strengths of the unsuccessful proposal (Increasing Community Flood Resilience in Merseyside: Novel Applications of Smart Technology and Data Analysis). The feedback also notes areas they might want to consider improving if they choose to continue to develop the ideas further.

The Environment Agency is working with all projects that did not secure funding via this programme to take their good ideas forward through other routes. Sefton Council has provided summary information about its proposal for the Environment Agency to share with partners and stakeholders who may be interested in supporting the proposal.