Published2 hours ago
The government must do more to protect homes in England from flooding, according to a cross-party committee of MPs.
A report by the Public Accounts Committee said the government hadn’t maintained enough of its existing flood defences or built enough new ones.
Scientists say climate change makes heavy rainfall and floods more likely.
The government said it would consider the committee’s findings and had spent £6bn protecting homes since 2010.
In 2020 the government committed to better protecting 336,000 more properties between 2021 and 2027.
But a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) in November said this was reduced to 200,000, a cut of 40%, with inflation cited as the major reason.
The Public Accounts Committee said in its report that the reduced number was also due to delays and bureaucracy.
It also said that some existing flood defences have not been properly looked after. The MPs say a £34m shortfall in funding for the Environment Agency to maintain defences had meant that only 94% of its assets were properly maintained. As a result 203,000 English homes are actually at an increased risk of flooding, according to the MPs.
They noted that money saved from the slow progress of the new flood defence projects could have been spent on maintaining existing infrastructure.
“This inquiry has uncovered the alarming truth that in a number of ways, the approach to keeping our citizens safe in this area is contradictory and
The post Flood defence policy flawed, say MPs appeared first on EnviroLink Network.