Policy paper

Flood and coastal erosion risk management policy statement: progress update 2021

Published 29 July 2021

Applies to England

Introduction

The government’s policy statement, published in July 2020, sets out our ambition to create a nation more resilient to future flood and coastal erosion risk and includes commitments which will accelerate progress to better protect and better prepare the country against these risks. A year on from its publication, the government is outlining the significant progress that has been made to deliver these commitments and the further steps that we are taking to strengthen action.

Investment

The government is making record investment in flood and coastal defences. We have doubled the amount invested in the flood and coastal defence programme in England to £5.2 billion over the next 6 years. This will fund around 2,000 new defence schemes to better protect 336,000 properties.

• We have published our investment plan which sets out what we will achieve from this investment, how we will develop the portfolio of projects to improve the country’s flood and coastal defences, and how we will manage the investment and track its progress.

• Alongside the investment plan, the Environment Agency has announced details of over 1,000 flood schemes that will benefit from this investment over the next year.

In February 2021, we launched a call for evidence on how we can strengthen the assessment of local circumstances in our flood and coastal defence programme, and how we can accelerate the uptake of property flood resilience measures.

• We have published a summary of responses (PDF) to the call for evidence.

• A key part of the call for evidence was to investigate ways that frequently flooded communities could be further protected. We will be launching a consultation in autumn 2021 to gather feedback on options to achieve this.

Flood insurance and property flood resilience

The joint government and industry Flood Re scheme has helped over 350,000 households at high risk of flooding across the UK to access affordable insurance. Building on this success, the government is setting out further action to improve access to insurance and to support Flood Re to achieve its objectives.

Following a recent consultation on changes to Flood Re we have published a summary of responses(PDF).

• We have made a commitment to make changes to the Flood Re scheme to allow insurers to help flooded households to make their homes more resilient to future flooding using products such as air brick covers, flood doors and flood resistant plasterboard - and benefit from discounted insurance premiums if they have resilience measures installed.

• A number of further technical changes have been agreed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Flood Re scheme.

Alongside this, the government is also setting out further action to improve the access and availability of flood insurance for those at risk and who have flood cover excluded from their policy, in response to the independent review of flood insurance carried out by Amanda Blanc.

• The government will urge the insurance industry to reduce flood exclusions through a new industry-led code of practice and signposting service, to be implemented within 12 months to improve communication and awareness with customers.

• We will also set up a cross-government working group to help improve take-up of flood insurance among private sector tenants.

The government will also publish a roadmap by the end of 2022 to further accelerate take-up of property flood resilience measures, including through the implementation of the changes to the Flood Re scheme. This will ensure all relevant bodies are playing their part and that consumers can have assurance about the quality of products and their installation. Government will also undertake further work with Flood Re to explore how the use of Flood Re funds can support this roadmap to further accelerate take-up.

Land-use planning

Our planning system plays an important role in tackling flood risk. The government has published a review of policy for development in areas at flood risk. The review has found that there are robust measures in place to protect people and property from flooding and has identified opportunities to further strengthen the system. The government is taking forward new actions in response to these findings.

• To drive up compliance with planning rules, we will provide clearer guidance to local planning authorities which reaffirms their duty to refer planning decisions to ministers where they are minded to grant permission where the Environment Agency sustains an objection on the grounds of flood risk from rivers and the sea.

• The government will also consider how planning decisions in areas at risk from surface water, groundwater or future risk from river and sea flooding could be subject to equivalent rules in future.

• Later this year, we will also publish a significant update to planning practice guidance on flood risk and coastal change.

• We will also issue new guidance to help local authorities identify how developer contributions can be used for flood resilience.

• As part of the government’s wider planning reforms, we will act to strengthen local enforcement of planning conditions, including in relation to flood resilience.

• The review will continue to inform further work to consider how flood risk and climate change objectives will be incorporated into the proposed wider planning reforms. This will support the government’s commitment to maintain and enhance the existing flood risk safeguards in the planning system.

Surface water flooding

Surface water is the most widespread form of flooding in England, with around 3.2 million properties at risk. Managing surface water flooding requires strong collaboration between a wide range of stakeholders, recognised in the government’s Surface Water Management Action Plan. This sets out 22 actions to improve understanding and strengthen delivery. In 2020 we published an independent review into the arrangements for determining responsibility for surface water and drainage assets. The review was carried out by David Jenkins.

• The government has published a report setting out the progress that has been achieved and a response to the independent review.

• We have accepted all but 4 of the 28 recommendations made by the independent review.

• Our report highlights work underway, which includes better surface water flood risk maps in 28 lead local flood authority areas by summer 2022, supported by government funding. This will provide 3.3 million people with more detailed information on local surface water flood risk.

• The Met Office and Environment Agency will scope a new approach to provide faster communication of surface water flood forecasts to improve incident planning and response in fast-moving situations.

• The first set of draft Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans will be published for consultation in 2022 – and will enable more effective planning for drainage, wastewater and environmental water quality. The government is making these plans a statutory requirement through the Environment Bill.

• In addition, we will consider what guidance and reporting is necessary to ensure timely action in areas with the greatest surface water flooding problems.

• We will also expand the scope of our forthcoming review of maintenance responsibilities to examine whether existing local powers to maintain assets are efficient, and whether existing complaints processes address the frustrations of residents and customers effectively.

More resilient places through a catchment approach

We are also taking the next step in our commitment to reform local flood risk management planning – so that every area of England will have a more strategic and comprehensive plan to manage flood risk by 2026.

• The government has published the terms of reference for a new advisory group which will be established by the end of 2021 and will bring together key bodies to inform our future policy proposals.

Conclusion

Taken together, these actions will help to create a thriving and resilient nation which is on the right footing to better manage and adapt to the risks of flooding and coastal erosion now, and in the future, reducing the risk of harm to people, businesses and communities.