Warning to spend more on flood defences

The limited spending under the current Government, in the face of the rising threat of floods from climate change, is likely to lead to £3bn in avoidable damage from flooding in future years, the Committee on Climate Change warned.

Damage equivalent to the scale of the flooding which devastated parts of the country in 2007 could be prevented if more funding was in place, the committee’s adaptation sub-committee said.

Even with rising contributions from non-government sources and greater efficiencies, current spending is £580m below what the Environment Agency estimates is needed to prevent any more houses becoming at risk.

Spending is £380m below even the lowest level assessed by the Environment Agency, which would leave around 250,000 more households exposed to a significant risk of flooding by 2035, the committee said.

The gap between what is being spent and what is needed to actively reduce the number of households at significant risk of flooding is £880m.

While capital investment in new flood defences is set to rise to £370m in 2015/2016 and then keep pace with inflation, funding from the Government will still be £1.4bn behind what is needed by 2021 to avoid the risk of floods increasing.

The warning from the Committee on Climate Change comes after floods hit communities around the country in the last two months. Ministers have claimed the Government is spending more than any previous government on flood defences.

Analysis from the committee found that more was being spent, but only in cash terms and if the figure included the £148m from external contributions to flood defences.