It is critical that the considerable outlay of public money through the Government’s £5.2 billion capital investment in flood defences is not wasted through a failure to adequately resource the maintenance of new and existing assets. We are concerned Flooding 47 by the evidence we have received about existing shortcomings in asset maintenance, and this situation will only be exacerbated by the twin pressures of climate change and increased capital funding if the Government does not act. We recognise the Government’s stated commitment to ongoing maintenance, but a step change is needed. The Government should put in place a long-term resource budget settlement for flood and coastal erosion risk management, that is aligned with the increased multi-year capital investment programme, so that the Environment Agency and others are able to effectively plan and maintain the network of flood and coastal risk assets.