Flood risk management
88. One of the Agency's biggest responsibilities
is flood risk management. It has a supervisory role in all matters
relating to flood risk management in England and Wales and is
empowered to construct and maintain flood defences, provide flood
warning and advice and flood incident response. The Agency estimates
that over five million people and two million homes and businesses
are currently at risk of flooding in England and Wales with assets
valued at £250 billion.[205]
Approximately half of the Agency's income and expenditure in 2005-06
was related to its work in this area.[206]
Defra provides the great majority of funding for the service,
including flood defence Grant-in-Aid to the Agency, which totalled
£445m in 2005-06.[207]
89. Most witnesses were satisfied with the Agency's
work in relation to flood defence. For example, the National Association
of Fisheries and Angling Consultatives told us that the Agency
now acted in "a far more holistic way" in flood defence
matters than it had in previous years.[208]
Concerns were raised, however, that the Agency would struggle
to address the likely increased risk of flooding due to climate
change, unless significant increases in funding were granted for
its flood defence work. The Chairman of the Agency believed that
the current level of investment on flood defence was "correct
for the present time".[209]
He welcomed recent funding increases from Government
in this area, but stressed these were "a step on a longer
journey".[210]
In the long term, he believed the UK should aim to spend "approximately
a billion pounds a year" on flood defence.[211]
90. Witnesses shared this view. The ABI told us that
climate change was "likely to result in a considerably worse
flood risk" and warned that the Government could not afford
to take its "foot off the gas pedal".[212]
It wanted Government to increase levels of investment in flood
risk management by at least £30 million year-on-year in order
to tackle the growing risks.[213]
The 2004 Foresight Report by the Office of Science and Technology
(OST) also warned that figures for annual damage from flooding
could rise from the present level of £1 billion to about
£25 billion "in the worst case scenario".[214]
It therefore recommended Government increases in spending for
building and maintaining flood defences in response to these increased
risks. Our predecessor Committee welcomed the Foresight Report's
conclusions in its previous report on Climate change, water
security and flooding.[215]
91. We asked the Minister whether the Government
intended to increase the Agency's income for its flood defence
work. He stressed that Defra had already "substantially increased"
the Agency's flood defence budget in the past few years, with
a 40 per cent increase since 2002.[216]
He agreed, however, that it was "inevitable" that more
would have to be spent in this area and acknowledged the importance
of taking the findings of the OST into account.[217]
The Minister told us that Defra would "make its case"
to the Treasuryin consultation with the Agencyas
part of the next Spending Review about "the appropriate level
of spend" for the Agency's flood defence work.[218]
The Spending Review will include Defra conducting a zero-based
review of flood risk management.
92. Defra's Head of Flood Management Division also
emphasised the importance of funding being spent effectively by
the Agency.[219] She
told us that the Agency had been granted "increased flexibility"
with its flood defence Grant-in-Aid to enable it to divert resources
to the most pressing areas.[220]
She believed that "moving money around in terms of maintenance
is required as much as more money".[221]
Baroness Young welcomed the recent increases in flood risk management
funding but recognised that the "big stretch" for the
Agency was to "spend it well".[222]
93. We welcome the Government's recent funding
increases for the Agency in relation to its flood defence work.
However, flooding risks can only increase in the future, due to
the effects of climate change. The Minister has acknowledged that
spending in this area will consequently also have to increase.
We expect him to listen closely to the Agency's advice in this
area before decisions are made in advance of the next Spending
Review. We agree with the Agency that Government should aim to
increase the Agency's funding in this area to £1 billion
per year in the long term.
94. With such a large budget comes increased responsibility
to ensure the money is wisely spent. As part of its zero-based
review of flood risk management in the next Spending Review, Defra
should examine how effectively the Agency is spending its flood
management funding.
COMMUNICATING WITH THE GENERAL PUBLIC
ABOUT FLOOD RISK
95. As part of its work on flood defence, the Agency
aims to increase public awareness in those areas at risk of flooding.
It has previously invested £25 million in mapping the likely
areas at risk from river and coastal flooding, using "the
most advanced technology available".[223]
The flood map is available to the general public via its web site
and is updated regularly, requiring investment of around £8
million per year.[224]
The Agency states that the European Commission considers it to
be an exemplar of best practice in terms of flood risk mapping
and flood warning in Europe.[225]
96. The Agency also aims to increase public awareness
about flood risk in other ways. For example, it:
- disseminates flood warnings
to around 1.2 million homes and businesses in England and Wales;
- tries to encourage those at risk to take effective
action to prepare for and respond to flood warnings;
- provides a 24-hour telephone advice and information
line (Floodline);
- invests £30 million a year in improving
its flood warning service and encouraging take-up of the service
by householders and business; and
- is shortly to launch new services which will
provide flood warning for the public through a range of media,
including to mobile phones and by text message.[226]
97. The Agency stressed, however, that its resources
were "small compared to the campaigns that can be run by
central government", and that it was "not resourced
to run large-scale campaigns aimed at the public at large".[227]
98. Witnesses were generally positive about the Agency's
work in this area. The Association of Drainage Authorities believed
the Agency had been "hugely successful" in the raising
of public awareness of flood risk, achieved through both "an
enormous publicity effort" and the maps of flood risk areas.[228]
The NFU acknowledged the Agency's work on flood defence had achieved
"good awareness".[229]
The ABI believed the Agency had made "good progress in communicating
flood risk through delivery of its flood mapping strategy".[230]
The British Soft Drinks Association also believed there was "good
information" on flood defence, for example with the flood
maps available on the website.[231]
However, it questioned whether the general public was "fully
aware of the information available".[232]
Other evidence suggested that, although the information was available,
there was a degree of indifference among those likely to be affected,
until it was too late.[233]
99. The provision of information and advice to
households in areas of flood risk is a crucial element of the
Agency's work. The Agency has achieved much in this area with
relatively limited resources, through initiatives such as the
flood map available on its website and its 24-hour telephone helpline.
If the Agency is to maintain and improve its work in raising awareness
about flood risk amongst the general public, Government should
review with the Agency the funding available for this work and
jointly publish proposals showing how this part of the Agency's
work will be further developed. The Agency should also consider
other innovative ways to reach out to the general public in these
areas of work, bearing in mind that not everybody uses the internet
as their main source of information.
205 Ev 139 Back
206
Ev 145 [Environment Agency] Back
207
Ev 145 [Environment Agency] Back
208
Ev 209 Back
209
Q 320 Back
210
Q 320 Back
211
Q 320 Back
212
Q 100 Back
213
Ev 3 Back
214
Office of Science and Technology, Future Flooding Foresight
Report, April 2004. Also see www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/flood. Back
215
Environment, Food & Rural Affairs Committee, Sixteenth Report
of Session 2003-04, Climate Change, Water Security and Flooding,
HC 558, paras 34 & 37. Back
216
Q 300 Back
217
Q 304 Back
218
Q 304 Back
219
Q 301 Back
220
Q 301 Back
221
Q 303 Back
222
Q 321 Back
223
Ev 140 Back
224
Ev 140 Back
225
Ev 140 Back
226
Ev 141 Back
227
Ev 141 Back
228
Ev 216 Back
229
Ev 254 Back
230
Ev 7 Back
231
Ev 223 Back
232
Ev 223 Back
233
Ev 175 [Louis Jankel] Back