Recommendation 23

As the Government prepares to implement the new investment framework from April 2026, it must prioritise funding for communities most at risk from flooding. A simpler system must also be a fairer one, capable of supporting those facing the greatest hardships and repeated flood events. The framework should be designed to deliver fairer and more inclusive outcomes, by: • Incorporating social vulnerability factors such as deprivation, health inequalities, insurance exclusion, and rural isolation, particularly where flooding cuts off entire communities, in decision making, • Improving access to funding for small-scale, rural, and community-led schemes, • Recognising the long-term and repeated impacts of flooding on people, places, and livelihoods, • Valuing the co-benefits of adaptation, including biodiversity, mental health, and economic stability, and • Moving beyond rigid cost-benefit rules to ensure resilience is built where it is most urgently needed. (Recommendation, Paragraph 78)