Deteriorating Flood Defence Assets

#11 —

Public Accounts Committee

Recommendation: Over the period 2019–20 to 2023–24, the Environment Agency’s annual accounts were qualified five times in succession because it could not accurately account for its flood management assets.27 However, the agency recently received a clean audit opinion for its 2024–25 …

Response Pending

#35 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: The Government should review the institutional arrangements for community engagement in flood risk management, to identify best practice and opportunities for more effective approaches. The Government should also commit to ensuring that risk management authorities are resourced and supported to …

Gov response: We welcome the focus on protecting not just homes, but also other properties. It is crucial that the success or otherwise of flood risk management interventions is closely monitored, in order to demonstrate progress toward …

Under Consideration

#6 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: 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 …

Gov response: The Government’s Policy Statement sets out a holistic approach to maintain the network of flood and coastal erosion risk management assets across England, through a comb– ation of investment and action by risk management authorities, …

Not Addressed

#16 —

Public Accounts Committee

Recommendation: The Agency explained that on-going maintenance costs are increasing for three main reasons. First, as a result of more extreme weather due to climate change, both more extreme flooding and more extreme droughts. Second, some flood defences in England are …

Gov response: 4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: ongoing ahead of Spending Review 2021 4.2 The government recognises that there can be benefits to setting budgets for key priorities on a multi- …

Under Consideration

#23 — Deteriorating asset condition poses acute risks, impeding hazard reduction and future site operations.

Public Accounts Committee

Recommendation: We explored with the witnesses the implications of assets’ condition for Sellafield Ltd’s plans to address hazards and clean up the site by 2125 and identified four areas of particular concern. Firstly – poor availability of assets has impeded Sellafield …

Gov response: 4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 4.2 The Sellafield site contains a complicated asset base of over 900 buildings plus associated plant and infrastructure. 4.3 Some assets are currently operational - …

Accepted

#4 — Require Sellafield Ltd to explain actions addressing deteriorating asset condition and maintenance team productivity.

Public Accounts Committee

Recommendation: The failure of the Replacement Analytical Project illustrates the need to improve asset management at Sellafield. Sellafield is frequently in a race against time to complete work before assets (such as buildings or equipment) reach the end of their life …

Gov response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented The Sellafield site contains a complicated asset base of over 900 buildings plus associated plant and infrastructure. Some assets are currently operational - many at or …

Accepted

#12 — Commission a national audit of all flood resilience assets by 2026.

Environmental Audit Committee

Recommendation: The Government should commission a national audit of flood resilience assets by 2026, encompassing both engineered and nature-based infrastructure. This audit should identify the type, location, ownership, condition, and maintenance responsibilities of all relevant assets, including those owned or managed …

Gov response: In October 2025, the government announced major changes to its flood and coastal erosion funding policy. The reforms will make it quicker and easier to deliver the right flood defences in the right places by …

Not Addressed

#11 — Absence of comprehensive record of flood resilience assets limits strategic management.

Environmental Audit Committee

Recommendation: We find that the absence of a comprehensive, up-to-date, and accessible record of flood resilience assets significantly limits England’s ability to manage flood risk strategically. The lack of visibility over third-party, locally delivered, and nature-based assets fragments responsibility, undermines coordination, …

Gov response: Defra undertakes detailed financial oversight and assurance, including agreeing the business case for the flood and coastal erosion risk management investment programme as a whole, monitoring progress against programme targets and ensuring the programme is …

Not Accepted

#37 — Embed nature-based solutions into national flood resilience strategy by 2027 and mandate SuDS.

Environmental Audit Committee

Recommendation: As recommended in our Flooding Resilience report, nature-based solutions are highly effective and underutilised in protecting England’s properties from flooding. The Government should embed nature-based solutions as a core component of national flood resilience strategy by 2027 and make Sustainable …

Gov response: 113. Through MHCLG’s Planning Capacity and Capability Programme, we are already providing around £2.8 million to PAS in 2025–26 to deliver specialist training, peer learning and tailored guidance for local planning authorities. PAS currently delivers …

Under Consideration

#13 — Initiate consultation on statutory requirements for assessing cumulative impacts of development on flood risk.

Environmental Audit Committee

Recommendation: We reiterate that the Government should ensure that flood and climate resilience are embedded into the core tools of planning, regulation, and investment appraisal. The NPPF should be strengthened to prioritise flooding avoidance and climate adaptation, mandating sustainable drainage systems …

Gov response: 43. As set out in our responses to recommendations 11 and 12, there are numerous legislative safeguards that ensure that implementation of the NRF will be robustly monitored. These monitoring and reporting requirements also provide …

Under Consideration

#12 — Planning system fails to account for cumulative development impacts on flood risk.

Environmental Audit Committee

Recommendation: As our recent report on flood resilience stated, the planning system fails to account for the cumulative and cross-boundary impacts of development on flood risk. Land use decisions are often made in isolation, without considering downstream consequences, catchment-scale dynamics, or …

Gov response: 40. The Impact Assessment for the NRF used the example of nutrient neutrality to demonstrate how a strategic approach could reduce delays and improve environmental outcomes. Given the range of potential environmental impacts that could …

Under Consideration

#2 — Government social housing plans do not address systemic drivers of poor conditions.

Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee

Recommendation: We support the Government’s plans to raise the standard of social homes over the next decade, while boosting supply. These actions will go some way to improving the quality and safety of social homes. However, the Government’s plans do not …

Gov response: 12. Phase 1 of Awaab’s Law came into force on 27 October 2025, specifying that social landlords must address damp and mould hazards within fixed timescales, and all emergency hazards within 24 hours. We are …

Accepted

#5 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: The Environment Agency should facilitate this by keeping a record of schemes that are unable to proceed due to being unable to secure adequate partnership contributions, including a quantification of the losses in flood resilience that result.

Gov response: The Government’s partnership funding approach is designed to ensure that funding contributions can be secured from a range of sources. It also ensures a consistent national approach to allocating the investment programme, prioritising those schemes …

Not Addressed

#1 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: We welcome the doubling of investment in flood defences announced at Budget 2020, amounting to £5.2 billion over the next six years. It is vital that measures to address the growing, long-term, flood and coastal risk in the face of …

Gov response: Since 2010 the Government has significantly increased its investment in flood and coastal erosion risk management and has just begun a new six-year capital investment programme, investing a record £5.2 billion in delivering around 2,000 …

Not Addressed

#17 —

Public Accounts Committee

Recommendation: The Agency is already seeing the impacts of climate change through the increasing strain on existing flood defences. In March 2020, the government gave the Agency £120 million to repair the defences damaged in the 2019–20 winter floods. At that …

Gov response: 4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: ongoing ahead of Spending Review 2021 4.2 The government recognises that there can be benefits to setting budgets for key priorities on a multi- …

Under Consideration

#1 —

Public Accounts Committee

Recommendation: On the basis of a Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (the Department) and the Environment Agency (the Agency) on managing flood risks.1

Gov response: Forty-Fifth Report of Session 2019-21 The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs Managing flood risk Introduction from the Committee The Agency estimates that 5.2 million properties in England are at risk of flooding. There …

Under Consideration

#8 —

Public Accounts Committee

Recommendation: Despite the known risks, there are still plans to build houses on flood plains. While government policy is not to build on flood plains unless unavoidable, the Agency’s analysis indicates that there could be a large increase – of up …

Gov response: The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. 8.2 Government agrees that not building in flood prone areas is and should remain a key principle but recognises that in some parts of the country there may …

Under Consideration

#7 —

Public Accounts Committee

Recommendation: We are not convinced that the Department has yet done enough to address the difficulties those recently flooded have in getting affordable insurance. Some people who have recently been flooded still face difficulties in obtaining affordable insurance. The Department states …

Gov response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation Recommendation implemented 7.2 The department wrote to the Committee on 7 April 2021 in response to this recommendation. 7.3 The Independent Review of Flood Insurance in Doncaster, published …

Under Consideration

#13 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Past FCERM funding arrangements have limited support for coastal management by relying on narrow benefit assessments that overlook wider, nonmonetised risks from coastal erosion and the existential pressures facing coastal communities and industries. We welcome the Government’s intention to incorporate …

Response Pending

#11 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Shoreline Management Plans (SMPs) are not consistently integrated into Local Plans, resulting in planning decisions that do not account for future coastalchange risks. The mismatch between Local Plan timescales and the longerterm horizons of SMPs could lead to developments being …

Response Pending

#3 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: The estate agent and conveyancing processes fail to reliably identify or disclose coastal erosion and landslide risks, leaving homebuyers without vital information. This is unacceptable given that clear risk data is already publicly available through tools such as National Coastal …

Response Pending

#1 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Coastal erosion and landslides have profound and far reaching consequences for individuals, families, and communities. While the physical loss of homes, buildings, and infrastructure is visible and measurable, the broader human and social impacts are equally severe but are not …

Response Pending

#10 — Environment Agency failed to meet reduced asset condition target, increasing flood risk for 203,000 properties.

Public Accounts Committee

Recommendation: The Agency has not been able to reach even the 94.5% level. In summer 2023, only 93.5% of the Agency’s high consequence assets were at the required condition.14 203,000 7 Q 65; C&AG’s Report, para 11 8 Q 65 9 …

Gov response: 3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Spring 2025 3.2 The Agency is working on improved evidence to help identify the optimal balance of capital and maintenance in order to maximise …

Accepted

#8 — Environment Agency targets 98% of high consequence flood defence assets at required condition.

Public Accounts Committee

Recommendation: The Agency is responsible for maintaining existing flood defence assets that it owns. Its modelling showed that it is best value for money to have 98% of its high consequence assets at required condition. Timely maintenance is important because if …

Gov response: 3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Spring 2025 3.2 The Agency is working on improved evidence to help identify the optimal balance of capital and maintenance in order to maximise …

Not Addressed

#1 — Public Accounts Committee scrutinised Defra and Agency's flood risk management and defence assets.

Public Accounts Committee

Recommendation: On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Environment Agency (the Agency) about their long-term ambition and objectives for flood risk, …

Gov response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA, the department) to develop a methodology for measuring and reporting ‘net’ change in flood risk at a national level, examples of …

Accepted

#6 — Write to Committee within 12 months on Flood Re closure implications and transition plan.

Public Accounts Committee

Recommendation: We are concerned that Flood Re is not providing the protection that was envisaged and that 2039 will likely be too soon to close down the Flood Re scheme given the increasing risk from flooding and slower progress on protecting …

Gov response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Regulations 2015 sets out that Flood Re must produce a report at least every five years which reviews the scheme, considering total levy and reinsurance premium thresholds and …

Accepted

#22 — Increasing maintenance backlog and unknown asset conditions negatively impact Sellafield operations.

Public Accounts Committee

Recommendation: There is an increasing backlog of maintenance tasks at Sellafield which is affecting the condition of Sellafield’s assets. Sellafield Ltd could not carry out some tasks during the COVID–19 pandemic due to restrictions on working practices to prevent transmission of …

Gov response: 4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 4.2 The Sellafield site contains a complicated asset base of over 900 buildings plus associated plant and infrastructure. 4.3 Some assets are currently operational - …

Accepted

#21 — Sellafield's century-long decommissioning plan faces urgent race against ageing assets.

Public Accounts Committee

Recommendation: The NDA told us that its plan for decommissioning Sellafield will take around a hundred years, and has three phases. The current phase, focussing on ‘minimising the risk of offsite consequences’ will last until approximately the 2060s; in the next …

Gov response: 2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: March 2027 2.2 Currently there are mission-length plans spanning 100+ years for each Operating Company (OpCo) within the NDA group. These reflect the best …

Accepted

#7 — Magnox Swarf Storage Silo's radioactive leak persists, with emptying delayed significantly until 2054-2059.

Public Accounts Committee

Recommendation: We heard from the NDA that the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo is “the most hazardous building in the UK”. It has been leaking radioactive water into the ground since 2018–we calculated, at current rates, enough to fill an Olympic–size swimming …

Gov response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has recently heightened its oversight of the performance of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and, in turn, Sellafield. …

Accepted

#26 — Commence Schedule 3 of Act, making Sustainable Drainage Systems mandatory in new developments.

Environmental Audit Committee

Recommendation: Despite repeated pledges by successive governments, Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 has still not been brought into force in England, leaving Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) optional in new developments and missing a critical opportunity to …

Gov response: The government remains committed to strengthening the delivery of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) and is exploring further measures to enhance support for their implementation. The FloodReady report, published in October 2025, highlights gaps and opportunities …

Not Accepted

#16 — Resilience must become a central organising principle for all public investment.

Environmental Audit Committee

Recommendation: The evolving understanding of climate risk and growing data on economic losses make clear that resilience must become a central organising principle for public investment. Without a shift from reactive to preventive spending, and from loosely coordinated action to clearly …

Gov response: In March 2024, Defra published a report which provided an analysis of spending on flood risk management by lead local flood authorities. The findings of the report informed work with the Ministry of Housing, Communities …

Under Consideration

#19 — Defence estate accommodation, particularly at RAF Marham, remains inadequate and outdated

Public Accounts Committee

Recommendation: The Department accepted that accommodation at RAF Marham is not good enough, reflecting wider problems within the Defence estate, more than half of which is over 50 years old. The Department told us that it had identified the need for …

Gov response: 4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: May 2026 4.2 Following the publication of the Defence Investment Plan infrastructure requirements will be reassessed against departmental priorities. The department will write to …

Under Consideration

#5 — Publish a 10-year plan for Weybridge redevelopment, detailing progress, interim risks, and mitigation

Public Accounts Committee

Recommendation: The Department has secured vital funding for the National Biosecurity Centre at Weybridge, but must manage significant interim risks until the redevelopment is completed in 10 years. The Weybridge facility is a critical national asset for managing threats from animal …

Gov response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented The department wrote to the Committee on 18 September 2025 setting out the programme’s strategic plan. The department will provide the Committee with an annual update …

Accepted

#12 —

Public Accounts Committee

Recommendation: The agency told us there have been considerable additional benefits from improving management of its flood asset base. For example, it can now group assets together to better understand how they interact with each other, and more accurately forecast levels …

Response Pending

#4 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: While we acknowledge the great value of partnership contributions from public sources, it is obvious that private sector investment is too low (as the Government has implicitly accepted), and this could contribute to uncertainty about whether schemes will be deliverable. …

Gov response: The Government’s partnership funding approach is designed to ensure that funding contributions can be secured from a range of sources. It also ensures a consistent national approach to allocating the investment programme, prioritising those schemes …

Not Addressed

#14 —

Public Accounts Committee

Recommendation: The government has a record of providing the Agency with long-term capital funding settlements, with two six-year settlements covering 2015–16 to 2020–21 and 2021–22 to 2026–27. However, the Agency only has a revenue funding settlement covering the next financial year …

Gov response: 4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: ongoing ahead of Spending Review 2021 4.2 The government recognises that there can be benefits to setting budgets for key priorities on a multi- …

Under Consideration

#2 —

Public Accounts Committee

Recommendation: Scarce local authority resources and low levels of private sector investment are barriers to the effective management of flood risks, especially given the impact of Covid-19. Lead local flood authorities (unitary authorities or county councils) are responsible for managing local …

Gov response: 2: PAC conclusion: Scarce local authority resources and low levels of private sector investment are barriers to the effective management of flood risks, especially given the impact of Covid-19. 2: PAC recommendation: The Department and …

Under Consideration

#14 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: In its response, Defra should provide a plan setting out how wider nonmonetised benefits for coastal erosion projects will be incorporated into the reformed FCERM funding model. This plan should: 22 a. Specify the benefits to be included in the …

Response Pending

#12 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: The Environment Agency should work with MHCLG to strengthen the role of SMPs within Local Plans and use the ongoing Local Plan reforms to establish a statutory requirement for coastal planning authorities to incorporate SMPs as a core part of …

Response Pending

#10 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: When the CTAP pilot concludes in 2027, Defra should move away from a selective piloting approach. In its response to this report, it should commit to establishing a longterm national strategy that provides financial assistance and relocation support for properties …

Response Pending

#9 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Innovative adaptation measures, including property purchase and relocation schemes, have been successfully piloted through the Coastal Change Pathfinder and the ongoing Coastal Transition Accelerator Programme (CTAP). However, these benefits remain confined to selected pilot areas for a limited period, and …

Response Pending

#8 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Defra should commit to reviewing the current 2009 property purchase qualifying date and value of the Coastal Erosion Assistance Grant (CEAG) and, by June 2026, launch a structured assessment of whether this threshold and available grant remain justified. This review …

Response Pending

#7 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: The restriction in eligibility for the Coastal Erosion Assistance Grant (CEAG) to properties purchased before June 2009 is arbitrary. It also fails to reflect the reality that erosion risks continue to be poorly communicated during property transactions and are intensifying …

Response Pending

#6 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Defra should work with insurers to commission a review into feasibility of implementing a Flood Re-like Government-backed insurance product for coastal erosion and landslides. (Recommendation, Paragraph 20)

Response Pending

#4 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Coastal erosion and landslide risk should be included as material information in conveyancing, and the Government NCERM website should be signposted. The conveyancing profession and estate agents should be required to inform prospective homebuyers if a home falls within the …

Response Pending

#2 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Defra should, in its response to this report, set out how it recognises and incorporates the full range of human impacts of coastal erosion into policy development and funding decisions, including clear actions or criteria for doing so. It should …

Response Pending

#26 — Flood Re's future insurance mechanism to be reviewed ahead of 2039 expiry

Public Accounts Committee

Recommendation: Flood Re’s existence is due to end in 2039, by which time it was expected that insurance would be affordable to householders given the anticipated reduction in flood risk as a result of improvements to flood resilience. Defra told us …

Gov response: 6.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: January 2025 6.2 The department will write to the Committee by January 2025. 6.3 Regulation 27 of the Flood Reinsurance (Scheme Funding and Administration) …

Not Addressed

#17 — Embed climate and flood resilience as core test for all public spending by 2026.

Environmental Audit Committee

Recommendation: By 2026, the Government should embed climate and flood resilience as a core test for all departmental spending and public investment proposals. This should be supported by clear resilience standards, measurable targets, and a requirement for every department to demonstrate …

Gov response: The government recognises the important role that property flood resilience can play alongside other types of flood defences to ensure more homes and businesses are resilient to flooding. The independent FloodReady review consulted a wide …

Under Consideration

#11 —

Public Accounts Committee

Recommendation: The Department received an additional £1 billion in funding for 2020–21 in the Spending Review, however it confirmed that this includes a previously announced increase in flood defence spending.29 It noted that the increase will allow for significant investment in …

Gov response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: January 2023 (to align with the next Environmental Improvement Plan). 3.2 The establishment of new legally binding targets through the Environment Bill incorporates a robust …

Not Addressed

#3 —

Public Accounts Committee

Recommendation: Government still does not have a good grip of the total costs required to deliver its environmental goals and funding so far has been piecemeal. The Department received an additional £1 billion in funding for 2020–21 in the Spending Review …

Gov response: 4. PAC conclusion: The Home Office breached its Net Cash Requirement by £118 million.

Under Consideration