Earlier this month, the Environmental Audit Committee published the findings of its recent inquiry on flood resilience in England. The inquiry was wide-ranging and covered investment in flood defences, surface water flood risk, the role of the insurance industry, the importance of property flood resilience measures, and the use of nature-based solutions, amongst other things. The report makes recommendations that closely align with the findings of Policy Connect’s recent Bricks and Water inquiries. In particular, the report calls for:

The need for a catchment-based approach, given that this is the most effective and integrated way to manage flood risk, improve water quality, and deliver nature-based solutions. This is something that Policy Connect called for within its first Bricks and Water inquiry. We welcome the Committee’s recommendation that “by 2027, the Government should mandate catchment-scale planning and delivery through regional partnerships with defined statutory duties, long-term funding, and clear oversight”.

Implementation of Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act, which would end developers’ automatic right to connect surface water arising from new homes to the public sewerage system and provide a framework for the approval and adoption of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS). Policy Connect has repeatedly called on successive governments to implement Schedule 3. The Committee agreed that “the Government should now commence Schedule 3 in England without further delay, making SuDS mandatory in all new developments”.

Development of a Flood Performance Certificate to help residents better understand their flood risk.  This is something that Policy Connect advocated for within its second Bricks and Water inquiry, as part of a wider Water Performance Certificate. We agree with the Committee’s recommendation that “FPCs should be piloted in high-risk areas with a clear, trusted methodology for assessing resilience, in partnership with local authorities, insurers and estate agents, and they should be free or subsidised for low-income households”.

Policy Connect submitted evidence to the Committee, based on its most recent Bricks and Water inquiry. This evidence was cited a total of fifteen times within the final report.

You can read the Committee’s report here. The Government is yet to respond.