According to a Public Accounts Committee report, the government hasn’t constructed or maintained enough new flood defenses.
According to scientists, climate change increases the likelihood of heavy rains and floods.
The government announced that it would review the committee’s recommendations and that, since 2010, it has invested £6 billion in housing security.
The government pledged in 2020 to enhance property protection for 336,000 additional properties between 2021 and 2027.
However, a National Audit Office (NAO) report from November stated that this was cut to 200,000, a 40% decrease, with inflation being the main cause.
According to the Public Accounts Committee’s report, delays and bureaucracy also contributed to the lower number.
Additionally, it claimed that some of the current flood defenses had not been adequately maintained. The MPs claim that only 94% of the Environment Agency’s assets were properly maintained due to a £34 million funding shortfall for defense maintenance. The MPs claim that as a result, 203,000 English homes are genuinely more vulnerable to flooding.
They pointed out that funds saved from the new flood defense projects’ sluggish progress could have been used for infrastructure upkeep already in place.
The Public Accounts Committee deputy chair and Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said, “This inquiry has uncovered the alarming truth that, in a number of ways, the approach to keeping our citizens safe in this area is contradictory and self-defeating.”
In England, 5.7 million homes are at risk of flooding, according to official statistics. Over 2,000 homes in the UK were inundated this winter as a result of several storms that produced a lot of rain.
“We have invested over £6 billion since 2010 to better protect over 600,000 properties from coastal erosion and flooding,” a Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs spokesperson stated.
“Thanks to this significant investment, 381,000 homes have been protected since 2015, with over 102,000 protected during Storm Henk.”
The MPs stated that it was “unforgivable” that housing developments were still being constructed on flood plains in the absence of mitigation. The government has expressed its desire to build a more flood-resistant nation, but the report said that this goal has not been clearly defined, making it impossible to gauge whether or not it is succeeding in this endeavor.
“The truth is that we also need to consider how we can make sure we can adapt to climate change. How are we going to survive flooding?” Anne Marie Morris, a Conservative MP and committee member, told BBC News. “And that’s a question which isn’t being asked, and it must absolutely not only be asked, but be answered.”
