Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 13
13
Nearly all this partnership funding has been obtained from public sector sources, with only £39...
Conclusion
Nearly all this partnership funding has been obtained from public sector sources, with only £39 million (7% of the total) being secured from the private sector. This is significantly lower than the 25% of partnership funding secured from the private sector between April 2011 and March 2015.13 The Department wants to see the level of private sector contributions increase and is looking at the types of incentives that might support this. The Agency told us that it is important to build coalitions with the private sector to help them understand it is in their interest to invest in flood defences. However, the Department agreed that Covid-19 makes attracting private sector funding more challenging and uncertain.14 Funding cycles
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target Implementation date: alongside Spending Review 2021 2.2 The Agency tracks partnership funding for the capital programme monthly to identify what contributions need to be secured. The Agency also monitors those schemes that most reduce flood risk but are at highest risk of not delivering to focus on viable schemes where shortfalls in funding are preventing their progression. The government’s policy statement of June 2020 on flood and coastal erosion risk management (FCERM) sets out a number of actions that will further strengthen incentives for generating partnership funding. 2.3 Funding for flood risk management is part of the overall Local Government Settlement. Depending on local decisions, the settlement for 2021-22 will see councils’ core spending power in England rise from £49 billion in 2020-21 to up to £51.3 billion in 2021-22, a 4.6% increase in cash terms. The majority of local government funding is un-ringfenced, recognising that local authorities are best placed to decide how to meet the major service pressures in their local areas. 2.4 The government has committed to review local government funding for statutory flood and coastal erosion risk management functions, and as part of Spending Review 2021 (SR21) is considering the priorities for local government finance reform, including how funding is allocated to councils.