Spending watchdog fears flood defences will be underfunded

Westminster’s spending watchdog has questioned whether there will be enough money to maintain and improve flood defences to protect millions of at-risk homes.

The Public Accounts Committee said it is “sceptical” about Government claims millions of pounds will be raised by cash-strapped businesses and councils to help to fund schemes to protect tens of thousands of homes.

MPs are particularly critical of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for refusing to accept responsibility for managing flood risk.

“We were very concerned that the department did not accept ultimate responsibility for managing the risk of floods,” the committee said. “The department told us it shared responsibility with the Environment Agency and local bodies.

“We are concerned that there is no clarity about where the buck stops. It is not acceptable that local people do not know clearly where responsibility for decisions lies and which body is answerable when things go wrong.”

Flooding devastated thousands of homes across the region in summer 2007, but cuts to the Environment Agency budget forced schemes to protect Leeds, York and Thirsk to be shelved.

Defra insisted local authorities are accountable for local flood risk management. An independent review into the 2007 floods said councils’ flood strategies should be reviewed by local committees, rather than national bodies.

The committee also warned that a new deal between insurers and the Government was “needed urgently” to guarantee protection in flood-risk areas, but the Association of British Insurers said it was frustrated with the progress of talks with the Government.

Labour said Ministers were “playing Russian roulette with people’s homes and businesses” by cutting funding, but the Government said the country was “better prepared than ever before” to deal with a major flood.