Source · Select Committees · Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Recommendation 8
8
Not Addressed
Defra should commit to reviewing the current 2009 property purchase qualifying date and value of...
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 should examine evidence on historic and ongoing shortcomings in coastalerosion risk communication, alongside updated projections of climatedriven changes in erosion rates and associated property exposure, and true costs of demolition. Defra should publish revised, evidence based eligibility criteria and an increased grant value by December 2026 together with the analysis that led to those revised figures and dates. The updated criteria and grant value should be implemented no later than April 2027. (Recommendation, Paragraph 24)
Government Response Summary
The government's response describes the general operation of the flood and coastal erosion investment programme, its evidence-led approach, and how funding decisions are made. It does not address the specific recommendation to review the eligibility criteria and value of the Coastal Erosion Assistance Grant (CEAG) or publish revised figures by the specified deadlines.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
The flood and coastal erosion investment programme operates as a rolling programme. Schemes are developed and refined using the best available risk evidence, including national datasets such as the National Flood Risk Assessment (NaFRA) and the NCERM, supplemented by local evidence. This evidence base will continue to evolve over time as new information becomes available. Publishing an indicative ratio for projects below £3 million would risk constraining this evidence-led approach. The EA publish a list of schemes allocated funding for each year, and an interactive map of completed schemes. This includes all projects, including those addressing coastal erosion and flooding. The annual Section 18 report provides further details, including the distribution of schemes and amount of investment spent on schemes that protect against various flood sources – this provides the relevant investment levels. RFCCs play an important role within this process, providing local oversight and helping to shape decisions on local priorities. As per the government’s FCERM funding policy, more projects will be eligible for funding in the future. This approach ensures the programme remains responsive to changing risk, supports the development of the most beneficial projects at any scale, and enables funding decisions to reflect risk, local priorities and the programme strategic objectives.