Publication of the Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management: Policy Statement

DEFRA have today published a Policy Statement that sets out the government’s long-term ambition to create a nation more resilient to future flood and coastal erosion risk.  The accompanying press notice can be found here.

The policy statement sets out five policy areas which will drive this ambition. These are to upgrade and expand national flood defences and infrastructure, to manage the flow of water more effectively, to harness the power of nature to reduce flood and coastal risks, to better prepare communities and to enable more resilient places through a catchment based approach. The Statement includes a number of actions in each of these areas which the government will now take forward.

Alongside the statement, DEFRA have published the results of the government’s 2019 Call for Evidence, further details of the £200 million innovation programme announced at Budget and a letter to the National Infrastructure Commission. The Environment Agency will shortly publish its Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy for England, providing a framework to guide delivery on the ground.

The Secretary of State has also made a Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament providing further detail of the package of announcements. The State will appear on the Parliamentary website this morning and can be found here.