Select committee: Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 4
4th Report – Flood resilience in England
Published 13 Oct 2025
Environmental Audit Committee Flood resilience in England All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
By 2027, the Government should develop and adopt clear, measurable national flood resilience standards that define the expected level of resilience based on the characteristics of the area or property. These standards should guide national and local investment, support planning decisions, and give the public confidence that resilience is being delivered consistently and transparently. These standards should be: • Embedded: the standards should be incorporated in the National Adaptation Programme (NAP), supported by long-term funding commitments aligned to those objectives. These commitments must extend beyond existing six-year budget cycles, reflecting the long-term nature of climate risk. Resources should be used more strategically, focusing on prevention and resilience rather than reactive spending. • Tiered: to reflect different types of risk (e.g., risk to life, property damage, infrastructure disruption) and levels of acceptable risk in different contexts (e.g., urban vs rural, critical infrastructure vs residential areas). • Comprehensive: applying across infrastructure, housing, and community planning. • Forward-looking: aligned with future climate projections and long- term adaptation goals. • Deliverable: backed by adequate funding, a clear implementation plan, and integration into planning, investment, and regulatory frameworks. (Recommendation, Paragraph 24)
From: Environmental Audit Committee, 4th Report – Flood resilience in England (HC 550), 13 October 2025
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 23 December 2025 (deadline 13 December 2025).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government says it shares the committee's view on the importance of flood resilience, agrees with some recommendations, and in some cases notes or considers them rather than accepting them, while declining to formalise the Flood Resilience Taskforce's role.
- On resilience standards, the government "notes" the recommendation and "will consider this as part of our existing commitment to explore a long-term target", with "a further statement next year".
- It does not agree to formalise the Flood Resilience Taskforce's role, saying this "would complicate the responsibilities and accountabilities".
- On making SuDS mandatory, it does not commit to commencing Schedule 3, saying improvement "could be achieved" by other means and it "will decide on which course of action to pursue in due course".
- On a statutory duty for Fire and Rescue Services to respond to flooding, it is "assessing the case", with the work "planned to conclude in summer 2026".