Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 27
27
Accepted
Public awareness of flood risk remains dangerously low, undermining national resilience.
Conclusion
Public awareness of flood risk is dangerously low, undermining national flood resilience efforts. Too many people do not understand the risks they face, how to respond to warnings, or how to protect their homes. This reflects both a strategic failure and an associated communications oversight, leaving lives, livelihoods, and infrastructure exposed. (Conclusion, Paragraph 99)
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the importance of public communication regarding flood risk and details the Environment Agency's existing extensive awareness-raising activities, including annual Flood Action Week campaigns, digital resources, educational outreach to schools, and partnerships with voluntary organisations.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
We agree with the importance of effective public communication. The Environment Agency currently has a dedicated week of annual flood awareness raising activity known as Flood Action Week and is committed to continually improving the effectiveness of its communication activity. In October 2025, the Environment Agency delivered a week of activities including stakeholder events, media partnerships with the Met Office and the government, in-house digital resources on flood awareness, and a partner information pack being issued to more than 200 different organisations including local authorities, the British Red Cross, Flood Re and community groups. These groups were able to use these resources and amplify the messages through their own channels and networks, in a way that keeps their audiences at the heart of the message and activity. From Environment Agency media and digital work alone, this year saw 300 pieces of media coverage and over 98,000 views of Environment Agency videos resulting in visits to Environment Agency flood warning and preparedness pages. The Environment Agency uses a wide range of activities throughout the year, especially during the winter months on flood awareness in communications and through engagement. Over the course of the year, the Environment Agency has developed partnerships and projects that focus on knowledge exchange and co-design with underserved communities. Creative outputs from these projects will build trust and resilience for flood risk communities, and engage young adults, socio-economically deprived, ethnically diverse, neurodiverse and disabled audiences. The Environment Agency worked with the Department for Education, the Geographical Association and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics learning to ensure their flood messaging reaches more than 20,000 schools across England. This supports both flood awareness for school estates and enhances flood education. The Environment Agency worked with national stakeholders across the voluntary sector such as the National Flood Forum, British Red Cross and the Communities Prepared partnership to raise awareness and provide support and guidance to communities including funding the targeted deployment of the Flood Pod (a trailer exhibiting property flood resilience (PFR) information to communities at risk of flooding, and to encourage installation of PFR measures).