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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to approve Tranche 2 funding for Asset Repair and Improvement.

Protecting communities from flooding is a key priority for this Government, and that is why we have launched a Flood Resilience Taskforce. It will provide oversight of national and local flood resilience and preparedness ahead of and after the winter flood season. It met for the first time on 12 September to discuss preparation for the winter ahead.

The Internal Drainage Board (IDB) Fund will support our farmers and rural communities from the impacts of flooding by providing grants to IDBs. The Environment Agency has confirmed Tranche 1 allocations, which provides financial support for storm recovery following the wet weather and flooding during winter 2023/24. They are in the process of making payments to the successful IDBs. We will update the IDBs on Tranche 2 in due course.