Policy paper

2010 to 2015 government policy: flooding and coastal change

Updated 8 May 2015

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

This is a copy of a document that stated a policy of the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government. The previous URL of this page was https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/reducing-the-threats-of-flooding-and-coastal-change. Current policies can be found at the GOV.UK policies list.

Issue

Serious flooding can happen at any time. In England, more than 5 million properties are at risk of flooding - that’s nearly 1 in 6.

There are also more than 250 homes at risk due to coastal erosion in the next 20 years. It’s possible around 700 more homes could become at risk in the next 50 years.

The latest climate projections indicate that sea levels will rise, and there will be increasingly severe and frequent rainstorms. This means the risk of floods will increase.

Read about the UK government response to the 2014 UK floods.

Actions

Managing the risks of flooding

We develop the policies and legislation that set out how the authorities should manage the risks of flooding and coastal erosion - see who is responsible for managing flood risk.

We’re working with the authorities to make sure that their responses to flooding and coastal erosion are consistent with policy and legislation. We provide guidance to a wide range of organisations.

We’re basing our work on the national flood and coastal erosion risk management strategy for England. This sets out:

• the flood and coastal erosion risks
• a national framework and principles for flood risk management
• the roles and responsibilities of various authorities
• how flood risk management work is funded
• the need to develop local solutions to flood risks

Funding flood and coastal erosion risk management

Funding for flood and coastal erosion risk management projects is available for local authorities, internal drainage boards and the Environment Agency. The Environment Agency are managing the allocation of funding.

Over the next six years, we will be investing £2.3 billion in more than 1,500 projects across the country. This will reduce flood risk for more than 300,000 households, on top of the 230,000 homes already protected since 2010. It will help keep families and businesses safe from the damage that flooding can cause.

The programme of flood and coastal defence improvements is built up of schemes developed and promoted by local authorities, internal drainage boards and the Environment Agency. They have been developed in collaboration with communities. We have published details of the projects in the programme. The work we are doing will help authorities to manage flood risks better, as well as do more. Defra’s “investment plan” sets out how the resources will improve flood and coastal erosion risk management over the coming years.

In our investment plan, we explained that the Chancellor had agreed to bring forward up to £60 million over the next 4 years. This is from within the total £2.3 billion budget. We have also been able to free up more than £80 million from within the budget over the six year period. We’ve done this through better management of risk and contingency at a programme level. This has allowed us to invest more than £140 million in accelerating work over the next six years. The Environment Agency has consulted Regional Flood and Coastal Committees on which schemes will benefit. A full list of the new and accelerated schemes has been published.

Dealing with flood emergencies

The Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) is responsible for national emergency planning for flooding. To make sure all relevant agencies and organisations are properly prepared to deal with flooding, we:

• set a national framework which outlines how local and national agencies should plan for and respond to flooding
• provide a framework to co-ordinate flood rescue operations
• co-ordinate all policy and support for local agencies

Read more about how we plan for and deal with flood emergencies.

Flood insurance: making sure people get a fair deal

We’re working with the insurance industry and others to make sure that home insurance is widely available and affordable in flood risk areas, and that this doesn’t cause insurance prices to rise for other people.

On 27 June 2013 we announced an agreement with the insurance industry to guarantee affordable flood insurance for people in high risk areas. The industry’s proposal – called Flood Re – would replace the current voluntary agreement (the Statement of Principles).

Part 4 in the Water Act 2014 sets out the broad scope of the regulations and how Flood Re will operate.

We published the government’s response to the consultation on the draft regulations necessary for the implementation of Flood Re in December 2014. We have reviewed the draft regulations to reflect comments made during the consultation and these draft regulations have now been laid before Parliament. They will be debated in the next Parliament.

Flood Re will protect many of those most at risk by limiting flood insurance premiums according to Council Tax bands (or equivalent in Devolved Administrations). This will help low income households.

To pay for this, a new industry-backed levy would enable insurance companies to cover those at most risk of flooding. All UK household insurers would have to pay into this pool, creating a fund that can be used to pay claims for people in high-risk homes. In the meantime, we’ve published a guide to help people to get affordable insurance.

We’ve also worked with the insurance industry and others to agree a template that can be completed by a surveyor after fitting resistant or resilient property level protection to a home. This flood risk report confirms the flood risk for a property so that insurers can take this into account when quoting for the cost of insurance.

We are working with the insurance industry to establish Flood Re by July 2015. There will be a period of testing and Flood Re will need to be authorised by the independent financial regulators. Once this has happened, households at high flood risk will be able to access to affordable flood insurance.

Insurers have agreed to continue to abide by their commitments under the 2008 Statement of Principles until the Flood Re scheme is fully operational.

Background

The Pitt Review

The Pitt Review was carried out following devastating flooding in 2007. It resulted in a series of recommendations for improving the way flood risk is managed in England. We’re committed to implementing the recommendations to improve our flood defences and prevent unnecessary building in areas of high flood risk.

The Flood and Water Management Act 2010

Our response to the Pitt review resulted in new legislation – the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. This:

• provides for better, more comprehensive management of flood risk
• helps safeguard community groups from unaffordable rises in surface water drainage charges
• protects water supplies to the customer

We’ve published:

• information on implementation progress, including on commencements (dates when legislation comes into effect) and secondary legislation
• statutory guidance and other relevant publications

Flood maps

The Environment Agency published new flood maps on 12 December 2013. These show the area that could be affected by flooding, either from rivers and the sea, reservoirs and for the first time surface water.

Flood risk regulations 2009

The EU Flood Directive (2007) requires all EU countries to take a common approach to flood risk management. This includes preparing:

• Preliminary Flood Risk Assessments published December 2011
• maps showing flood risks by December 2013
• plans for managing flood risks by December 2015

The Floods Directive is transposed into English law through the Flood Risk Regulations 2009 which complement the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.

England and other UK administrations are in the process of implementing the EU legislation. Where possible, existing maps and plans used to manage flood risk will be adapted and developed to meet the requirements of the EU Directive and to co-ordinate with implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive.

We’ve produced guidance to lead local flood authorities on the methodology for identifying flood risk areas in England and Wales.

Guidance is available on Flood Risk Management Plans: what they are and who’s responsible for them and how to prepare them.

New approaches to managing coastal change

In June 2009 we funded 15 pathfinder projects to help communities adapt to a changing coastline. Work on these projects is now mostly completed.

Several of the pathfinder authorities developed approaches that involved moving assets and people at risk to safer locations. These are now being trialled.

• Coastal Change Pathfinder Review
• Coastal Pathfinder Evaluation: An Assessment of the Five Largest Pathfinder Projects

Who we’re working with

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is responsible for planning policy, including policy affecting the development of land which is at risk from flooding or coastal erosion.

The Environment Agency takes a strategic overview for all sources of flooding and coastal erosion in England. It also has operational responsibility for managing flood risk from rivers and the sea.

Lead local flood authorities (the unitary authority or the County Council where there is no unitary) are responsible for managing risk of flooding from small watercourses, surface runoff and groundwater.

Sewerage undertakers (often water companies, which raise funding through water rates or meter charges) are responsible for flooding from most sewers.

Internal drainage boards manage water levels and drainage of land in some low lying areas.

Coastal (local) authorities and the Environment Agency manage risks for coastal erosion.

More detail about who is responsible for managing flood risks.

Appendix 1: planning for and dealing with flood emergencies

This was a supporting detail page of the main policy document.

Defra has overall responsibility for national-level flood emergency planning and for ensuring co-ordinated policy and other support, as necessary, to local emergency responders.

There are a range of other local and national organisations involved in planning for, and dealing with, flooding. We set out who is responsible for what in our Lead department plan.

This takes account of lessons identified following the summer 2007 floods, the November 2007 East Coast tidal surge and the Cumbria flooding in 2009, as well as issues raised in the Pitt report.

The National Flood Emergency Framework outlines how relevant organisations should plan, deliver and support their own local responses to flooding.

The Flood Rescue Concept of Operations sets the framework for national co-ordination of flood rescue in England. It involves government departments, the emergency services, and other rescue agencies.

Provisions for government co-ordination

The Civil Contingencies Secretariat is part of the Cabinet Office. It works in partnership with government departments, the devolved administrations and main stakeholders to improve the UK’s ability to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies.

The role of the Environment Agency

The Environment Agency is responsible for:

• forecasting flooding
• issuing flood warnings
• operating its own flood defence infrastructure (for example barriers and sluices) if there is a flood

It also makes sure local professional partners are well briefed on the likelihood and implications of flooding.

Local planning by the Local Resilience Forums

Local Resilience Forums are responsible for local planning for floods. They include:

• local authorities
• the Environment Agency
• the emergency services (police, fire, ambulance, coastguard)

The police will lead the response during an actual emergency.

The National Asset Register

The National Asset Register records known flood rescue resources that could be called upon to support local resources in responding to major or wide area flood events. It contains contact details of competent flood rescue teams from both statutory agencies and the voluntary sector. It is maintained by the Fire and Rescue Service National Coordination Centre (FRSNCC) on behalf of Defra.

If you have any queries, including on the National Asset Register, and how you can become a part of it, please contact flood.rescue@defra.gsi.gov.uk.

Flood awareness and safety at caravan and camping sites

Around 28% of caravan and camping sites in England and Wales are at flood risk from rivers and the sea, with over 2 thirds being at either significant or moderate risk. A government and industry working group has published a report on improving public flood safety at caravan and camping sites.

Appendix 2: managing the risks of floods and coastal change

This was a supporting detail page of the main policy document.

Managing flood risks

The ‘National flood and coastal erosion risk management strategy’ sets out how flood and coastal erosion risk will be managed for England.

Local flood management strategies

Lead local flood authorities (LLFAs) are developing local strategies for each of their areas. These will set out the flood risks from minor water courses, surface runoff and groundwater, and their plans to manage these risks.

These plans will often take into account sewer flooding, where LLFAs and water and sewerage companies are working together.

Local strategies:

• must be consistent with the national strategy and use information from existing sources such as CFMPs and surface water management plans
• should be developed in partnership with other relevant organisations and communities within the LLFA area

Flood risk management schemes can be funded through bids from government funds, through partnership funding or from local resources.

Catchment flood management plans

The Environment Agency, working with partner organisations, has developed 77 catchment flood management plans (CFMPs), covering the whole of England and Wales. The plans:

• describe the flood risks over the catchments of larger rivers
• set out policies on how these will be managed

Flood Risk Management Plans

Flood Risk Management Plans have to be produced to meet conditions in the EU Floods Directive. They must cover flooding from main rivers, the sea, reservoirs and local flood risk management in flood risk areas. They look at the risks of flooding and how these risks can be managed. Guidance has been produced on who is responsible for the plans and how to prepare them.

The plans use information from existing plans and strategies such as shoreline management plans, catchment flood management plans and local management strategies. They should also be coordinated with the River Basin Management Plans being produced under the EU Water Framework Directive. A joint consultation on draft Flood Risk Management Plans and draft River Basin Management Plans was launched on the 10 October 2014 . The flood risk management plans will be published by December 2015.

Managing coastal change

Coastal erosion can pose a threat to coastal communities, infrastructure and environments, including complete loss of homes and land.

The policy of successive governments is that there can be no right to compensation for damage from flooding or coastal erosion, as defences are provided under permissive powers and not duties.

Shoreline management plans

There are 22 shoreline management plans (SMPs) which set out the risks of flooding from the sea and coastal erosion in England and Wales and how these will be managed.

We’ve published guidance to help authorities prepare the next generation of SMPs.

See detailed information about the management of coastal erosion for England, including erosion risk mapping data.

Works to manage flood risks

Each financial year the Environment Agency prepares a medium-term plan which sets out the priorities across England for carrying out new flood defence work. An annual maintenance programme sets out where maintenance will be carried out on existing flood defences.

This includes using government and partnership funding to:

• build new flood defences
• maintain existing defences and watercourses

2014 to 2015 flood defence schemes

We publish maps showing where flood defence work is taking place.

Details about individual schemes or maintenance planned are available from the local Environment Agency office.

Protection for individual properties

People can take action to protect their own homes by using property-level protection (PLP). This type of protection is best used in situations where it is not viable to build community protection. This could be because of the nature of the catchment, the type of flood risk or simply that there are too few properties at risk. PLP schemes work best where there is a good degree of community co-operation and where people sign up to Environment Agency flood warnings.

Appendix 3: funding flood and coastal erosion risk management in England

This was a supporting detail page of the main policy document.

Risk management authorities

Defra provides funding to risk management authorities to manage flood and coastal erosion risk in England. This includes funding to:

• provide flood warnings
• build new and improved flood and coastal defences
• maintain existing structures
• respond to flood incidents

The majority of funding is given as flood defence grant in aid to the Environment Agency.

Lead local flood authorities

Defra and Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) provide funding directly to lead local flood authorities to help them with their new duties under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.

For 2014 to 2015 lead local flood authorities will receive funding of £36 million, with:

• £21 million distributed to authorities as part of the business rates retention system
• £15 million provided direct to individual local authorities through the local services support grant. For 2015 to 2016 the direct grant will be £10 million. This reflects the fact that Local Authorities should already have made good progress in undertaking the duties introduced in 2010, for example preparing local strategies.

Local authorities also spend money from their revenue budget on their ongoing flood and coastal erosion risk management activities. For 2012 to 2013 recorded capital expenditure was £44 million (not including capital expenditure on highways, open spaces and climate change adaptation, which may have flood and coastal erosion risk management benefits).

Partnership funding for new and improved flood and coastal defence works

Partnership funding is a way of allocating capital funding to flood and coastal erosion risk management projects.

Instead of meeting the full costs of a limited number of schemes, the partnership funding approach means that government money can help meet the costs of any worthwhile scheme. The amount of money that government will allocate to a scheme is based on:

• the numbers of households protected
• the damages being prevented
• other benefits a project would deliver

Partnership funding allows local communities to have a bigger say in what is done to protect them. The weighting within the system puts added emphasis on government helping those most at risk and living in the most deprived parts of the country.

The approach encourages cost savings and the use of other sources of funding to supplement money from government. As a result, more schemes are likely to go ahead than under the previous ‘all or nothing’ funding system. We are on track to bringing in up to £140 million in external co-funding for the 2011/12 to 2014/15 period.

We are changing the rules to allow business contributions to flood and coastal erosion works to be tax deductible. This means businesses that contribute to schemes pay less corporation or income tax. The new rules apply to contributions made from 1 January 2015.

The Environment Agency’s principles for implementing flood and coastal resilience funding partnerships:

• outlines how the new arrangements should work in practice
• sets out what partners and communities can do if they wish to see a project taken forward
• includes case studies on current partnership funding schemes

The ‘Policy statement on partnership funding’ describes how the new system works, including how to work out what amount of funding a project might receive from government. It also sets a number of rules to protect value for taxpayers’ money.

An introductory guide to partnership funding explains the new approach and answers some common questions.

Pilot projects and research and development

Defra keeps a small amount of money each year to deliver pilot projects and fund research and development.

Small schemes pathfinder funding

You can apply for funding under this scheme if you represent a Flood Risk Management Authority in England.

It will look at efficiencies that may be available through appraising small flood/coastal erosion schemes as a ‘package’, rather than individually. Each project will carry out an appraisal of a ‘package’ of schemes and report to Defra. The lessons which are learnt from each project will be shared with the wider flood and coastal erosion risk management industry.

For more information or to apply please email SmallSchemes.Pathfinder@defra.gsi.gov.uk. You will need to send us your project bid by Friday 3 April 2015.

How funds are allocated

Funding for flood and coastal erosion risk management in England

How we measure value for taxpayers’ money

The results of our investment in flood and coastal erosion risk management for April 2011 to March 2015 are being monitored using 6 outcome measures. These include:

• the number of households receiving an improved standard of protection from flooding or coastal erosion
• the overall economic benefits of the investment programme
• important environmental outcomes, such as creating new habitats to compensate for those lost when defences are built to protect people and property

More about outcome measures and the latest delivery update from the Environment Agency.

Post-approval evaluation

Below certain financial limits, the Environment Agency can:

• approve business cases for specific flood and coastal erosion risk management projects
• allocate grants

This includes projects that are led by local authorities and internal drainage boards. Defra closely monitors the projects and checks that they offer value for money.

Occasionally, Defra does more in-depth assessments, called post-approval evaluations. These take a sample of projects and consider whether the decisions taken by the Environment Agency are robust and based on sound evidence.

For more information, see:

• our report on the post-approval evaluation we carried out from July to September 2010
• the Environment Agency’s action plan, which sets out how it will act on the conclusions of our report