Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the risk of building new homes in flood prone areas; and what steps he is taking to ensure that new homes are not built in areas of high flood risk.

This Government takes the risk of flooding very seriously. The Government’s policy statement on flooding and coastal erosion sets out our long-term ambition for managing the increasing challenges and boosting our resilience. It describes the Government’s policies to better protect and better prepare the country.

When local areas consider where new homes should be built, our National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is clear that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided by directing development away from areas at highest risk (whether existing or future). Where development is necessary in such areas, the development should be made safe for its lifetime without increasing flood risk elsewhere.

In July 2021 the Government undertook a Review of policy on development in areas at flood risk. It concluded that the Government has robust measures in place to protect people and property from flooding which all local planning authorities are expected to follow. The review set out actions the Government should take and has already taken to ensure safety of new developments from flooding now and in the future. This included an update to the NPPF in July 2021 to make sure that all sources of flood risk need to be considered, taking into account future flood risk, to ensure that any new development is safe for its lifetime without increasing the risk of flooding elsewhere.

Furthermore, as part of our wider ambitions for an improved planning system we intend to review the NPPF to ensure that it contributes to climate change mitigation and adaption as fully as possible.