UK funding for flood defence inadequate warn MPs

The MPs have also criticised the UK government for failing to secure significant private sector funding for new flood defences. The committee said that an increase in capital spend on flood defences to £370m for 2015-16, announced in this month's spending round, does meet the level anticipated by the Environment Agency (EA) to properly mitigate flood risk. Despite this increase, capital funding in 2015-16 will be only £16m higher than in 2010-11, and around £80m lower than the level desired by the EA.hideThe government said the funding would be protected in real terms until 2020. Retaining funding constant until the end of 2020 will further increase the shortfall as the EA estimates that funding would need to reach £550m in 2020-21, said the MPs in a report entitled Managing Flood Risk. "Additional capital funding until the end of the decade announced by the Chancellor in the 2013 spending round is essential for securing flood defences to protect homes and businesses. However, funding has not kept pace in recent years with an increased risk of flooding from more frequent severe weather events and the relatively modest additional sums to be provided up to 2020 will not be sufficient to plug the funding gap," said the MPs in their report. Launching the report, the committee's Chair, Anne McIntosh MP, said: "Additional capital funding for flood defences is welcome since every £1 spent on flood defences to protect communities spurs growth and delivers economic benefits worth £8." "But spending on flood defences has not kept pace with rising risks from more frequent severe weather. The Chancellor must ensure that investment increases by £20 million year on year. We need that money over the next 25 years to protect homes and businesses better. Maintenance of these defences and effective dredging of watercourses must be a priority," she added. In his spending review the UK Chancellor, George Osborne, also announced that the UK's Department for Environment and Rural Affairs' (Defra) budget for 2015-16 will reduce by 10%, down from £2.2bn in 2014-15 to £2bn. However this settlement maintained resource spending on flood defences in cash terms. The report also raises concerns over the effectiveness of schemes to secure private funding for flood risk mitigation. Since April 2012 the EA has operated the Flood and Coastal Erosion Resilience Partnership Funding model, a new scheme for allocating funding to specific projects. It aims to encourage non-government sources to provide funding for flood defence schemes. "Although the effectiveness of the Partnership model for allocating flood funding will become fully apparent in time, we are concerned that only small amounts of private sector funding have been secured to date. Defra must demonstrate in the next 18 months that this model can deliver much greater private sector funding," said the MPs. "The Department and the Environment Agency must simplify procedures to speed up delivery of funding to local authorities for whom efficient cash-flow is vital if project funding is to be secured from private bodies," they added.

UK funding for flood defence inadequate warn MPs

Want to read this article?

Read Next

Parent company risk could see captives miss out on proportionality under DORA

Europe plans cyber threat alert for health sector by 2026

US casualty rates continue to climb

Europe has weakest growth outlook for third consecutive year: WEF

Reinsurance rates fall for loss-free accounts as supply-demand shifts

Parent company risk could see captives miss out on proportionality under DORA

Europe plans cyber threat alert for health sector by 2026

US casualty rates continue to climb

Europe has weakest growth outlook for third consecutive year: WEF

Reinsurance rates fall for loss-free accounts as supply-demand shifts

Keep yourself informed

Sign up for Commercial Risk’s newsletters

Want to read this article?

Read Next

Parent company risk could see captives miss out on proportionality under DORA

Europe plans cyber threat alert for health sector by 2026

US casualty rates continue to climb

Europe has weakest growth outlook for third consecutive year: WEF

Reinsurance rates fall for loss-free accounts as supply-demand shifts

Related Articles

Keep yourself informed

Sign up for Commercial Risk’s newsletters