As floods continue to ravage northern England and the Scottish borders in the wake of Storm Desmond, political pressure is mounting over a lack of defences.
Prime minister David Cameron has pledged to fully reimburse councils' costs, and has promised to review the Government's flood defence plans.
Environment secretary, Liz Truss, told the Commons the defence plans contain assumptions about climate change, which would be reviewed in the light of the current floods.
Sir James Bevan, chief executive of the Environment Agency, also said his organisation will look again as its response to the floods.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has accused the Government of making 'false promises' about flood defences.
Anger focuses on the fact that Cumbria's multimillion-pound flood defences - built following widespread devastation in 2005 - failed to keep this year's deluge out of people's homes despite being designed to protect against 100-year events.
Ms Truss MP, said their effect 'was to delay the impact and reduce the impact. That gave more time for people to be evacuated, and for the emergency services to operate and help to protect lives and homes'.
The Government is countering claims of a decrease in flood defence spending in England, from £802m in the last financial year to £695m in the current one, on the grounds that the earlier figures were inflated by clear-up costs after the 2013 winter floods.
It says it's investing more 'in real terms' but Conservative MP Neil Parish, who chairs the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee, has said it's time to 'face up to the facts' and spend still more.
Cumbria County Council leader, Cllr Stewart Young, met local MPs yesterday to press for a thoroughgoing review of local protection scheme.
Meanwhile, thousands of homes in Cumbria and Lancashire only regained power this morning.
Area parliamentarians include Liberal Democrat leader, Tim Farron MP, who told Transport Network: 'The question we need to ask ourselves is whether it was right to cancel some schemes over the last few years. There is obvious pressure on the Government to reduce spending, but making cuts to flood defence in the short term will only create a long-term problem that could turn out to be far more costly if we experience another season of flooding.'
In Scotland, there are multiple diversions on roads throughout the country and high wind warnings on most of its bridges. The Scottish government has triggered its Bellwin Scheme which helps councils with costs.
For further details on the latest flood warnings the Environment Agency has a live map on its website here.
