Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 24
24
The Agency published a report in 2020 which showed that people from more deprived areas...
Conclusion
The Agency published a report in 2020 which showed that people from more deprived areas faced greater flood risk than those living in less deprived areas, although the gap had narrowed in the last 15 years. The report also showed that the proportion of all homes ‘better protected’ as a result of the Agency’s programme that were in the 20% most deprived areas increased from 4% in 2011 to 29% in 2014 but then declined to 8% in 2019. The Department believed that this pattern was due to some large schemes in deprived areas happening early which led to the increase and then decline in investment. The National Audit Office found that the Department had not carried out any analysis to support its explanation of the pattern of investment in deprived areas. The partnership funding model is designed to ensure deprived areas do not miss out on investment as a result of challenges in securing partnership funding. The Department stated that it does not think there is an underlying problem with the model but acknowledged that it needs to do more to understand this.27
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Spring 2022 6.2 The government invests wherever flood risk is highest across the country, and where it will benefit the most people and property. This is reflected in the government’s Partnership Funding policy which allocates funding as grant in aid (GiA) for flood and coastal defence projects. This provides a fair and consistent basis for allocating GiA and securing wider contributions where others stand to benefit from a defence scheme. Households in the 20% most deprived parts of the country continue to qualify for funding at 2.25 times the rate than that available to non-deprived households. The government will monitor the performance of the FCERM flood defence investment programme, including regional investment, to ensure it continues to better protect and better prepare communities and properties across England. 6.3 Going forward, the department will be working with the Agency to report on properties better protected in deprived areas and investment by Office for National Statistics (ONS) region through its KPIs to track performance against our investment policy. These reports will be reviewed by a new governance board which will be in place to review and track progress across the next investment period. 6.4 More widely, the department has committed to strengthen reporting of progress towards its goals so that it is clearer and more accessible, and to consider how the existing arrangements can be improved, by Spring 2022. The department will consider how the changes in monitoring of investment across regions and deprived areas can be incorporated as part of this wider work. 6.5 Flood and coastal defence schemes can also have local economic benefits. The department is exploring as part of the Call for Evidence on Partnership funding policy, how the department can further support the resilience of lower performing local economies and small communities to flood and coastal erosion risks.