Insurers call for new Flood Bill

As MPs accuse government of "chaotic" response to last year's floods, insurance sector argues new legislation is needed to improve flood management and help deliver lower premiums

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has today called on the government to introduce a new flood bill to clarify which agency is ultimately responsible for flood management in the UK and ensure that programmes to tackle increasing flood risks are adequately funded.

The calls came as the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee of MPs released its report on last summer's floods, accusing the government of overseeing a "confused and chaotic" response to the crisis which left 13 people dead and saw 44,600 homes and businesses flooded at a cost of over £3bn.

The report claims the UK remains "under prepared" to cope with a repeat of the floods, arguing that there is still confusion over which agency is responsible for dealing with surface water floods caused by heavy rainfall, such as those which affected parts of Hull and Sheffield last year.

The committee also calls on the government to increase investment in flood risk management, claiming that a pledge to increase spending on flood defences to £800m by 2010/11 "looks far less impressive under close analysis and is not fully adequate to cope with the risks the country faces".

Director General of the ABI, Stephen Haddrill, said that new flooding legislation would be required to deliver the committee's recommendations. "The problem of surface water flooding highlighted in the report cannot be tackled until such a Bill is in place," he said. "This would need to give The Environment Agency strategic responsibility for tackling all sources of flooding, and give local authorities responsibility, power and the additional money needed to develop local surface water management plans to upgrade drainage systems."

ABI spokesman Malcolm Tarling said that the introduction of such a bill would deliver much needed clarity to the UK's flood risk management efforts. "Since last year's floods, report after report has reached the same conclusion: we need to be more prepared and we need one body in charge of flood management," he said. "At the moment flood risk management is fragmented and diverse with the Environment Agency, water companies and local councils all having a role. As a result there is no full picture of the risks faced, particularly from surface water flooding."

Tarling added that there was a strong business case for supporting new legislation. "Better flood management means reduced flooding, reduced risk of disruption, and, if we can reduce the cost, lower insurance premiums," he argued.