Our game-changing flood defence reforms guarantee funding for deprived communities
3 min read
We will unblock vital flood defence infrastructure after years of stasis and ensure deprived communities are better protected.
This week marks Flood Action Week – an annual campaign to help raise awareness and ensure people are better prepared for extreme weather.
Flooding is devastating. It ruins homes and businesses, and in the most severe cases, threatens lives. With extreme weather events becoming more frequent, we must act decisively to protect families and businesses across the country. As Environment Secretary, I am absolutely determined to do all we can to protect people, properties, and vital infrastructure from the risk of flooding.
This Labour government is committed to national renewal and is investing record levels in our nation’s flood defences, after inheriting them in the worst condition on record from the previous Conservative administration.
Years of neglect had left sea walls and flood defences crumbling and communities exposed to unnecessary risk. Last year, we immediately redirected funds towards urgent maintenance, halting the downward slide of our defences. In just fifteen months, we’ve turned the tide and completed 151 new schemes in our first year alone, better protecting more than 24,000 homes and businesses across England.
From the second phase of the Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme, which protects 800 properties, to improvements in Jaywick protecting 1,500 homes, we're proving that when government acts with purpose, communities benefit.
With over six million homes and businesses at risk from flooding, communities must take practical steps to prepare for the wetter months ahead. This Flood Action Week, if there is one action I urge everyone to take, it is to check your flood risk and sign up for flood warnings.
But preparation isn't just about individual responsibility. It requires a government willing to invest in making our towns and cities safe for the long term. That’s exactly what we are doing with our record £10.5bn investment through to 2036 – the largest flood programme in the nation’s history, which will protect 900,000 properties.
And last week, I visited Pevensey Bay in East Sussex and saw first-hand how that money is being used. Standing on the sea walls, watching them hold back the waves, I was reminded of the importance of this funding as we adapt to climate change.
Our programme is creating thousands of jobs, protecting against billions of pounds of economic damage, and unlocking new homes and businesses. But we also recognise that fundamental reform is needed so money reaches the communities that need it most.
Today, we are going further, with the most significant overhaul of flood funding in fifteen years, replacing the previous complex system that disadvantaged councils with limited resources.
Our new approach is much more straightforward. Projects worth less than £3m will receive full government funding, and larger schemes will receive 90 per cent of the additional costs on top of that. This is a real game-changer, unblocking vital infrastructure that has been unable to make progress for years. I'm also determined that the most vulnerable in our society get the protection they need, so we are guaranteeing that at least 20 per cent of new investment goes to the most deprived communities over the next decade.
Growth is this government’s mission, and for every £1 we spend on a defence, we protect against around £8 of economic damage. This is not only a good return on the taxpayer’s investment, but it also allows those communities to grow for the future.
After years of decline and neglect, defences in flood-hit communities are finally getting the investment, support, and fairness they deserve.
We are taking control of our future and delivering national renewal.
Emma Reynolds is the Labour MP for Wycombe and Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
