At the Parliamentary reception for the APPG for Flood Prevention, David Goff, chair of the board of the National Flood Forum (NFF) called for a “bigger, bolder vision for flood mitigation” – a timely message in the wake of Storm Henk, the eighth named storm of the UK’s 2023/2024 storm season.
During the reception, which was hosted by MP Rachel Maskell, MPs joined with representatives from across the flood resilience sector to share insights and updates into where flood protection measures currently stand in the UK. During his keynote address, MP Robbie Moore (pictured centre) – who serves as Minister for Water and Rural Growth – emphasised the devastation caused by flood events and the progress made towards the policy statement published in 2020 in which the government set out its ambition to create a nation more resilient to future flooding and coastal erosion.
“On the back of Storm Henk, the government took swift action, swifter than we have previously in introducing the flood recovery framework that has been well received by the local authorities that are benefiting from it after Storm Henk,” he said. “This provides the opportunity for eligible households and businesses to apply for grant measures, including the property resilience grant scheme, which offers funding of up to £5,000 per property to contribute to the installation of resilience measures.”
On a longer-term basis, he said. the government is continuing to take action to better protect UK homes and businesses from flooding. Highlighting some of the key figures, he noted that, since 2010, over £6 billion has been invested to better protect some 600,000 properties from flooding and coastal erosion. As a result, 100,000 properties were better protected from Storm Babet, approximately 13,000 were better protected against Storm Ciaran and over 75,000 properties were better protected from Storm Henk.
Emma Hardy, MP and Shadow Minister for Flooding, Oceans and Costal Communities, also offered a snapshot of where the Labour party stands in relation to supporting communities impacted by flood. It’s an area of personal importance to her, she said, and an ongoing topic of importance for the Labour party so she is looking forward to further engaging with stakeholders across the sector to ensure that the best possible flood protection policies are developed going forward – and to ensure flood funds are allocated in the right way.
Contextualising what’s happening across the UK, Julie Foley, a director of the Environment Agency spotlighted the numerous weather records set during 2023 in terms of temperature and rainfall. Storm Henk was especially eye-opening, she said, as it impacted communities which had not been flooded in a very long time.
“Over 2,000 properties were flooded from Storm Henk and that's a lot of properties,” she said. “But at the same time… over 100,000 properties were better protected. That is showing a dividend from [the implementation] of flood defences. I remember working on flood events in 2007 and 55,000 properties flooded at that time, just to give you a sense of the numbers.”
It’s clear that the frequency and severity of flood events is increasing, Foley said, which says a lot about the importance of the investments being made in flood resilience and mitigation. And while the UK is currently enjoying a brief period of calm, the winter season is not over. She issued a call to action for stakeholders to encourage everybody to sign up for flood warnings, which provide critical support in preparing for a flood event.
She noted that investing in a diverse range of flood protection measures is high on the agenda of the Environment Agency, and a top priority of its capital investment program. The agency is working closely with Flood Re and the wider property flood resilience (PFR) sector, she said, to promote property flood resilience and is launching a new framework to enable that.
Providing an update on the work of the Flood Prevention APPG, Maskell, who serves as chair, emphasised the need for the government and all other stakeholders to work together to find long-term solutions to the climate challenges facing the UK. It can feel that work being done is just a “drop in the ocean”, she said, but it’s essential that government develops a laser-sharp focus and massively steps up what it’s doing to meet the global climate challenge.
She highlighted the work being done by the Environment Agency and by local authorities to move the dial on flood mitigation measures and the great initiatives that are springing across the UK – including research into creating wetlands and using flood water in a productive way. People in so many communities are thinking differently about flood, she said, but they’re still facing the immediate pressing concern of how to keep their feet, their homes and their businesses dry – and how to afford that.
“That is a big question for government,” she said. “And you need to make sure that government rise to that challenge, and that you hold government to account for that. But we know, particularly at this time, it’s a big question for people in our communities. So, I would say government needs to be lighter of foot, particularly in announcing things like bell-wind and not putting such conditionality around it but recognising that any home or business that’s been flooded needs that immediate support in place.”
“[…] We’re grateful to the Flood Re scheme and the success of that scheme and the progress that’s been made. But as you will know, many MPs, such as myself, are saying we need leaseholders involved and we need property holders of property that are now at flood risk, which were built in recent years, involved. We have got other challenges we need to bring to the table, because we can’t just think ’25 years of Flood Re’… we’ve got to think about how we are going to address the challenges that are confronting us at this time.”
Looking around the reception room, Flood Re chief executive Andy Bord (pictured left) said he was delighted to see representatives from government, from the insurance industry and from organisations committed to the manufacture and deployment of PFR measures in attendance – as well as those with personal stories to share about how flooding has impacted their lives, their businesses and their communities.
“None of us individually can make the kind of change we’ve been talking about, it does require a collective effort,” he said. “[…] And I’m really proud that at Flood Re, we’ve been leading that charge since 2022 when we introduced ‘Build Back Better’. That really was a groundbreaking initiative and we have counterparties from all over the world coming to talk to us about what needs to be true to put something in place that can make houses more resilient into the future after a flood.”
Flood Re recognises that the work done to date is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of solving the challenge presented by flood risk, he said, and that more does need to be done. However, with the first claims from Storm Babet coming through with Build Back Better attached to them, there’s the opportunity to challenge the insurance industry to go even further. A great start has been made but there’s a lot of room for further growth, as the sector starts to normalise Build Back Better as a concept.
Bord also touched on the Transition Plan published by Flood Re in 2023 which outlined the four steps the joint initiative has earmarked as necessary to create a more flood resilient UK. The first is the need for increased investment in flood defences in the face of climate change increasing severe weather events. The second is the need to build confidence and investment in UK housing stock. The third is ensuring planning policy considers future flood risk to lower the likelihood of new homes being flooded.
“And finally, and applicable to everyone, is coping with the cost-of-living crisis,” he said. “Clearly, affordability is central to what we do and we will absolutely do our part to continue to deliver on that but also to raise awareness of Build Back Better and encourage householders who have been flooded to hold all of us to account to make sure that we build back better… So, my request is – let’s look for opportunities to work together to drive [this agenda] further forward so that we can make a UK that is more resilient and better protected against flood.”
