A report from the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee (EFRA) has accused the Government of lacking clear flood-resilience targets, which it says leaves England ‘playing catch-up’ with climate change.
Among calls for national standards on flood defences and long-term funding that would track climate science, the committee urged the Government to consider activating legislative options on enforcing more sustainable drainage systems to help water management.
It also called on the Government to end the automatic right of developments to connect to the public sewers.
'The current approach to promoting sustainable drainage systems (SuDS), coupled with the persistence of the automatic right to connect surface water drainage to the public sewer, is not working,' MPs said.
'While the uptake of sustainable drainage systems has improved in recent years, the installation of high-quality SuDS features delivering multiple environmental benefits may still be insufficiently incentivised.'
The committee went on to argue that the Government 'has not adequately explained why it believes the widespread support for the commencement of Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 amongst stakeholders to be mistaken'.
This legal provision gives ministers the power to appoint a local authority approving body for drainage systems, which could ensure that 'construction work which has drainage implications may not be commenced unless a drainage system for the work has been approved'.
'The Government should commit to ending the automatic right to connect to the public sewer, and consult on measures to improve the uptake of high-quality SuDS, including an option for commencing Schedule 3,' the committee stated.
Published on Monday (8 February), the report insists the Government must set out clearly defined objectives for a level of flood resilience, which will protect homes and businesses in line with climate change projections. This would include 'seriously re-examining' the National Infrastructure Commissions's recommendation of a nationwide standard.
EFRA estimates that 5.2 million properties are currently at risk from flooding. As part of the preparations to help communities protect themselves, the select committee also called for a long-term budget for the maintenance of existing defences.
While it welcomed the Government's Budget 2020 allocation of £5.2bn over the next six years, the committee said the Government 'should commit to ensuring that funding for flood and coastal erosion risk management will keep pace with climate science and modelling of flood and coastal risk, both during the 2021–27 programme and beyond'.
‘It's time to accept that severe weather events like Storm Christoph are the rule, not the exception,’ said Neil Parish , chair of the EFRA select committee.
‘The Government's commitment to net zero demonstrates its willingness to act on the climate crisis, but it must recognise that in protecting homes and businesses from flooding, we are playing a long game.
‘If the Government will not set well-defined targets for flood resilience, it will waste millions of pounds playing catch-up. We must accept that as floods are here to stay, so must be the defences we build.’
EFRA’s report also called for local authorities to be given the resources they need – including for dedicated trained staff – to effectively factor climate change projections into local planning decisions.
Mr Parish commented, ‘local authorities lack the competencies and resources they need to factor flood projections into planning and development decisions. This must be addressed.’
Responding to the report, Cllr David Renard, environment spokesman for the Local Government Association (LGA), welcomed this last recommendation.
He said: ‘We particularly support recommendations in the report for councils to have the resources they need to help factor flood projections into planning decisions and for an action plan to address the mental health impacts on flood-hit communities.’
Cllr Renard continued: ‘Government needs to ensure the reduction of overall flood risk is comprehensively measured and that the new national flooding and coastal erosion strategy is reflected in local plans with councils supported to lead and implement the new strategy locally. The planning process is also critical to ensure flood plains are not over developed.
‘Councils are best placed to ensure that flood defence money is directed towards projects that best reflect local needs, including protecting key roads and bridges to keep local residents and businesses moving. Funding for flood defences needs to be devolved to local areas and sit within a new national framework for addressing the climate emergency.’
Environment department Defra has been contacted for a response.
This article first appeard on localgov.co.uk.
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