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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to protect rural communities from flooding.

Government is investing £5.2 billion between 2021 and 2027, providing around 2,000 flood defences to better protect communities and properties across England, including those in rural areas, from flooding and coastal erosion.

This is invested where flood risk and the benefits of action are greatest, and this assessment includes economic impacts on agriculture. As a result, at the end of 2021/22 the Environment Agency reported that 28,093 hectares of agricultural land had been better protected.

On 26 July 2022, government announced the creation of a new £100m Frequently Flooded Allowance (FFA) to support communities that have experienced repeated flooding. This seeks to address some of the specific challenges faced by frequently flooded communities, particularly those that are smaller and more isolated or rural and therefore struggle to secure the funding they need to improve their resilience to flooding. We expect to publish more information later this year on the first projects to benefit.

We are also investing £200m for the Flood and Coastal Innovation programme to support local places including coastal and rural communities. This meets key government commitments to develop and test new approaches to tackle the threat of flooding and coastal change.

Farmers and land managers also have an important role to play in reducing the risk of flooding and coastal erosion to both rural and urban areas. Through the new Environmental Land Management schemes, farmers and other land managers will be supported to improve the environment and help manage environmental hazards, such as flood risk.