Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 1
1
Accepted
Public Accounts Committee scrutinised Defra and Agency's flood risk management and defence assets.
Conclusion
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Environment Agency (the Agency) about their long-term ambition and objectives for flood risk, their understanding and management of flood risk, and their progress on building and maintaining flood defence assets.1
Government Response Summary
The government stated it is developing a methodology for measuring and reporting ‘net’ change in flood risk, with the new National Flood Risk Assessment (NaFRA2) due by the end of 2024, enabling reporting from 2025. Further work will assess appropriate metrics by the end of 2025.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA, the department) to develop a methodology for measuring and reporting ‘net’ change in flood risk at a national level, examples of which include (but are not limited to) climate change, asset deterioration and development in the flood plain (for increasing risk) and new defences (for decreasing risk). The new National Flood Risk Assessment (NaFRA2), due for publication by the end of 2024, will introduce this capability and will establish a new risk baseline against which change can be measured. The Agency expects to be able to report “net” change in risk from 2025 onwards, in line with the timescales agreed with the National Audit Office following their 2020 report Managing Flood Risk. The government will undertake further work by the end of 2025 to assess the most appropriate measure for flood risk reduction from rivers, the sea and surface water and the merits of setting a target. Any metrics used will need to reflect wider resilience options and not just the provision and maintenance of infrastructure. This work will be informed by NaFRA2 and the Agency’s next Long Term Investment Scenarios for flood and coastal erosion risk management due at the end of 2025. The government set out the aim to conclude this work by end 2025 in its recent response to the National Infrastructure Commission’s study into surface water flood risk.