ADA responds to flood funding reform consultation

Under the existing flood and coastal investment programme, individual projects can bid for government funding. Identifying projects generally follows a bottom-up approach with suggestions from the Environment Agency and other Risk Management Authorities (RMAs). This approach is consistent with the national strategy and guidance. Funding is currently allocated to these projects according to the Government’s Partnership Funding policy, which has two steps. A project must pass through both steps to progress to delivery:

• Step One: Project funding. This step determines how much government funding each project is notionally eligible for through a complex Partnership Funding calculator that reflects current funding policy.
• Step Two: Programme prioritisation. This step determines which projects that have passed through Step One are prioritised in the investment programme. The prioritisation process is led by the Environment Agency and occurs on an annual basis as the programme progresses. Regional Flood and Coastal Committees are involved in this process, taking into account local priorities and are required by law to consent the programme.

The current process is complex, costly and has slowed the delivery of vital projects. Consequently, the government’s proposals seek to simplify this approach to funding and prioritisation, speed up delivery, and respond to the changing nature of risk. The new approach will be launched in time for the start of the government’s new flood investment programme in April 2026.

Within this consultation document there is also a call for evidence on how the government can effectively find alternative sources of funding for flood and coastal erosion projects to achieve better outcomes for more stakeholders and opportunities for English devolution to support flood risk management in England. These are longer-term considerations and will not come into effect alongside the funding reforms.