Supporting Local Communities to Improve Flooding Preparedness

"Last winter saw record levels of rainfall and the stormiest period we have experienced for at least 20 years.

"Record river flows, sea levels, wave heights and groundwater levels were recorded in many locations across the country.

"This led to the flooding of around 8,300 properties nationally and caused damage and disruption to businesses, infrastructure, transport and utilities. My sympathies go to all those who were affected.

"Many organisations were involved in responding to the exceptional weather, including Government and its agencies; the emergency services and military; many voluntary organisations; as well as transport and utility companies.

"The Environment Agency hold a range of strategic incident response supplies across the country, including 425 mobile pumps, 3.8km of demountable and temporary flood defences, and 21 sandbag machines. These resources are co-ordinated nationally and can be deployed to areas of greatest need through mutual aid arrangements.

"Following last year's floods we have improved our management of these supplies and the way in which we work with engineering contractors and Fire and Rescue Service to deploy them.

"We have made improvements in the logistical management of these supplies, including the way in which we work with engineering contractors and the arrangements we have with the Fire and Rescue Services to deploy supplies.

"This Government will be spending more than £3.2bn over the course of this parliament on flood and erosion risk management (between 2010/11 to 2014/15).

"For the future we will be making record levels of capital investment, spending £2.3bn in improving defences right up to 2021.

"We have made an unprecedented long-term six-year commitment to record levels of capital investment in improving defences: £370 million in 2015/16 and then the same in real terms each year, rising to over £400m in 2020/21.

"This 6-year capital investment will enable the Environment Agency and other risk management authorities to:

• reduce the risk of flooding to at least 300,000 households between April 2015 and March 2021, on top of the 165,000 protected during the current spending period
• reduce unit costs and continue gaining efficiencies
• attract more contributions from other sources, and
• enable even more projects to go ahead.

"We will be publishing a programme for flood defence projects and coastal erosion management with the 2014 Autumn Statement. This will help secure at least 10 per cent efficiencies, which will be reinvested in more projects, and leverage at least 15 per cent contributions from other sources."