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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of potential impact of surface water flooding on communities in Wiltshire; and what funding he has provided to help mitigate flooding risks in Wiltshire since 2015.

Lead local flood authorities are required to manage local flood risks from surface water, groundwater and ordinary watercourses. Local flood risks should be identified and managed as part of a local flood risk management strategy. The two lead local flood authorities in Wiltshire are Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council.

In the area covered by Wiltshire Council, £38,597,000 of Capital Flood Defence Grant in Aid funding was invested between 2015/16 and 2024/25 by the Environment Agency and other Risk Management Authorities on flood related projects. The most significant of these was the Environment Agency led Salisbury River Park Scheme which spent £35,070,000 to better protect 1,062 properties. These totals exclude maintenance spending, property-level protection schemes, and some projects which cross county borders.

In the area covered by Swindon Borough Council, £2,615,993 was invested between 2015/16 and 2024/25 by the Environment Agency and other Risk Management Authorities on flood related projects.