To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) when he plans to discuss funding of flood defences in England with the Environment Agency; (110150)

I informed the Environment Agency in December that their grant in aid allocation from Defra for flood risk management for 2007-08 will be £435.7 million. This is an increase compared to the 2006-07 original allocation and more than restores the in-year reduction to the agency’s flood risk budget in 2006-07.

Overall departmental funding in later years, of which grant in aid to the agency forms a part, is being considered in the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review and we continue to work with the agency in preparation for this.

Along with other stakeholders, the agency is also currently being formally consulted on proposals for new outcome measures and prioritisation approaches for flood and coastal erosion risk management.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the number of new homes which have been built in high risk flood areas in the last 12 months; and what steps his Department is taking to protect such homes from flooding. (110321)

Figures on the number of homes built in high risk flood areas in the last 12 months are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

The Government aim to discourage inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding. The Department for Communities and Local Government leads on development planning policy and, following public consultation, has just published new planning policy on development and flood risk. Planning Policy Statement 25 aims to direct development away from the areas at highest risk and ensure that, where new development is necessary in areas at risk of flooding, it is appropriate and safe, does not increase flood risk elsewhere and where possible reduces flood risk overall.

Defra funds the Environment Agency to advise planning authorities on development proposals to ensure flood risk is properly taken into account but does not fund provision of measures to reduce flood risk specifically to facilitate new development. Measures needed to reduce risk for new development must be funded as part of the development, primarily through either a formal agreement under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 or by way of developers incorporating effective design measures to mitigate the risks of a flood event.

New development will often benefit from infrastructure already in place to reduce flood risk such as defences and flood warning systems; many areas at risk of flooding are already protected to a high standard. Building resilience to flooding into new development is being looked at as part of the developing cross-Government ‘Making space for water strategy’ for flood and coastal erosion risk management.