Floods Resilience Taskforce to boost flood defences

The Government's Floods Resilience Taskforce will meet on Monday 8 September, promising increased flood protection across the country.

The fourth meeting of the group will discuss and prepare for possible flooding over the coming winter and reflect on the challenges and achievements of the last 12 months.

Over the last winter storm period, around 167,000 properties were protected from flooding by Environment Agency assets.

The taskforce was established in September 2024 to ensure a long-term, strategic approach to bolstering the nation’s resilience to extreme weather, as well as speeding up the delivery of new flood and coastal defence schemes to better protect vulnerable communities.

Since its launch, the taskforce has facilitated rapid information sharing between partners ahead of and during these incidents, and lessons learned have helped to prepare the nation ahead of this winter. It has helped to deliver an improved forecasting service for surface water flooding which provides short notice updates on incoming flood risks and helps first responders in their decision-making to protect lives.   

Floods Minister Emma Hardy said: "I know first-hand the disruption that flooding has on people’s lives and the unexpected costs it causes.

"Since being established last year, our Taskforce has helped ensure communities have the protection they need from the dangers of flooding.

"Under our Plan for Change, we are investing billions to build new flood defences, which will protect homes and businesses across the country."

Caroline Douglass, Executive Director for Flood and Coastal Risk Management at the Environment Agency, said: "As we head into autumn, we need to think about flood risk even though drought is still being felt in some parts of the country.

"Our priority is to ensure communities are protected from the risk of flooding as our changing climate brings more extreme weather.

"Working with our partners in the Floods Resilience Taskforce, we will continue to ensure the nation’s flood resilience is bolstered by delivering new flood and coastal defences in towns and cities across the country."

The Met Office is predicting a wetter than average autumn this year.

Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Will Lang, said: "While the longer-range forecast leans towards wetter-than-average conditions for the coming months, rainfall is likely to vary significantly across regions. There is an increased likelihood of westerly weather patterns, which typically bring more rainfall to western and northern parts of the UK, while eastern and southern areas may experience drier conditions than the national average suggests.

"Importantly, despite the overall signal for wetter weather, this outlook does not guarantee that current drought conditions will ease consistently across the country.

"This outlook will play a vital role in supporting Taskforce members to prepare for the forthcoming winter period, and ensure communities are better protected from the impacts of flooding."