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

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to deliver climate finance to communities in the UK most impacted by climate change.

This Government is working hard to both understand the impacts of climate change and deliver the support needed to communities in the UK most impacted. For example, delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change, this Government is investing record levels of flood protection. We are investing a record £2.65 billion over two years (2024/25 and 2025/26) for the construction of new flood schemes, and the maintenance and repair of existing ones. With this fresh funding, 1,000 flood schemes have been or will continue to be supported, better protecting 52,000 properties by March 2026.

In addition, the Government is strengthening the capability of local authorities to protect businesses and communities from the impacts of climate change through the Local Authority Climate Services (LACS). Developed through the collaborative efforts of Defra and the Met Office, the LACS provides local authorities with targeted data on climate change impacts to their local areas to help guide the decisions made in response to climate risks and support climate adaptation planning. The UK Government Emergency alerts are also in place to warn businesses and communities of dangerous weather conditions which may impact on their affairs.

The Flood Re scheme also supports local communities. Flood Re is a joint Government and industry scheme that provides reinsurance in such a way as to promote affordability and availability of insurance for UK households at high flood risk. Flood Re does not deal directly with homeowners but instead allows insurance companies to pass the flood risk element of home insurance policies over to Flood Re for a set premium based on council tax bands.