Flood Risk Management in England

HC 1659, Sixty-fourth Report of Session 2010-12 - Report, Together With Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence

Author:

House of Commons - Committee of Public Accounts

Publisher:

TSO (The Stationery Office)

Price: £10.00

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'Flood Risk Management in England (HC 1659)' reports on flood protection as a national priority featuring on the National Risk Register of Civil Emergencies. Recently the annual cost of flood damage has been £1.1 billion with 5.2 million homes at risk of flooding.

In 2010-11 the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) spent £664 million on flood and coastal risk management, 95% of which went to the Environment Agency (EA).

In 2009 the EA projected that its flood risk management budget needed to rise by 9% during the spending review period (2011-12 to 2014-15) to sustain current levels of protection. However during the same period the EA's flood risk management budget has been reduced by over 10%.

DEFRA want to increase local authority and private contributions, but expecting an increase in local authority contributions when their resources are reducing may well be over-optimistic.

The Committee was very concerned that DEFRA did not accept ultimate responsibility for managing the risk of floods. DEFRA also need more reliable information to inform its decisions on when and where to intervene if local risk management plans are inadequate. At the same time the EA need to improve how it involves local communities in the decision-making process.

The agreement between DEFRA and the insurance industry that insurance cover will be provided to households at risk of flooding ends in 2013. In some areas premiums appear to have risen as a result of growing uncertainty over local levels of protection, so an early revised agreement is needed.

Extent	31 pages	ISBN	9780215041487
Size	A4	Price	£10.00
Format	Paperback	Published	31 Jan 2012
Availability	Colour copy: 3 - 5 days	Delivery	Delivery options and charges