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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of in-year Government cuts to flood defence budgets.

There have not been any cuts in maintaining and improving flood defences.

The Environment Agency (EA) has all the necessary resources it requires to undertake its flood risk management duties.

This Government is investing £2.6 billion between 2015 and 2021 to protect the country better from flooding. This includes an additional £76 million, announced in the Budget in November. Our funding will support over 1,500 flood defence schemes, which will better protect more than 300,000 homes by 2021. This is a real terms increase in capital investment, from £1.7 billion in the 2010-2015 Parliament and £1.5 billion in 2005-2010.

In addition, between 2015 and 2020 we will be spending over £1 billion on the maintenance of flood defences. This is a real terms increase in spending compared to the £812 million spent in the previous five years.

When flooding does occur we are better prepared than ever before. EA now has an improved arsenal of kit with 500,000 sandbags, 25 miles of mobile flood barriers and 250 mobile pumps available at depots and ready to be moved where needed. The EA is also training the military, first responders and contractors to help with flooding.