Supplementary memorandum submitted by the Environment Agency (ACC 40)

A. EMBEDDING ADAPTATION

How big a challenge has it been to embed adaptation into the Environment Agency's mainstream business management processes? How long has it taken?

We have had a formal adaptation strategy since 2005, and have developed a good understanding of the main threats and opportunities that climate change poses to our business. Climate change allowances for flood risk and sea level rise have been integrated into the Defra / Environment Agency Flood Risk Appraisal Guidance since 1999.

Our approach has evolved over time, from integrating adaptation into policy specific issues, to developing climate change risk assessments and individual action plans for each of our core policy areas. We currently have fourteen functional Adaptation Action Plans embedded across the business.

As part of our strategic approach to adaptation, and to build capacity within the Environment Agency, we have a well developed communications and evidence programme, including:

· A climate change science programme

· A climate change training programme

· An annual internal climate change conference

· A climate change briefings series, summarising our key work

· Quarterly meetings with operational staff leading on climate change

· A monthly climate change bulletin

We are now developing integrated climate change risk assessments and an integrated adaptation programme, which will bring together the fourteen functional adaptation plans. This will form the basis of our report to Defra under the Reporting Power (given in the Climate Change Act 2008).

Some departments are just beginning to address climate change risks. What learning points would you draw out for them?

We would suggest that there are five general principles as set out below.

· Leadership: Make sure that there is high-level leadership and that this is both visible and meaningful, supported by resources, training, and skills development.

· Use existing processes: Exploit existing business processes and risk management to ensure that key teams and individuals are actively engaged and able to deliver actions. Avoid adaptation being thought of as a standalone activity just done by a specific group of people with adaptation in their title. Adaptation thinking has to be incorporated into all work areas and activities.

· Learn from others: Begin by reviewing what others have done and develop knowledge and ideas from existing examples of good practice.

· Be proportionate: Take a risk-based approach to planning and action. Be explicit about the organisation's attitude to risk and risk management goals.

· Address uncertainties: It is not possible to predict with certainty future climate conditions and possible impacts and risks. Use scenarios and build in flexibility to adapt to observed changes which confirm, or otherwise, climate change planning assumptions. It is important to understand the uncertainties and what their implications are so that informed decisions can be taken.

B. SKILLS GAPS AND SHORTAGES FOR ADAPTATION

Does the country have sufficient skilled people to deliver the adaptive action necessary to address risks from flooding, drought and coastal erosion? What are the main gaps in skills?

The UK currently has some skills shortage in engineering, land use planning, science and technology. These are skills which will be essential for delivering adaptation. It will be individuals with skills in these areas that will need to gain specific knowledge and expertise on adaptation matters.

Many aspects of Flood and Coastal Risk Management require strong engineering and technical skills. The Environment Agency has over 3700 employed in planning and delivering Flood and Coastal Risk Management, most of whom require technical skills, ranging from NVQs across the manual workforce, through to PhDs and corporate membership of professional institutions. Over 250 of these staff have chartered engineer status with 600 being directly engaged in the planning and management of flood defence assets.

Although some skills gaps do exist in certain areas the Environment Agency has developed and implemented a comprehensive Skills Strategy over the past few years to help develop and support engineering skills. This includes the Foundation Degree in River and Coastal Engineering we have established, run in partnership with the University of the West of England. In September 2009 this course was extended to include its first intake of 22 local authority trainees through Defra's Capacity Building initiative.

We also supplement the skills people bring to the Environment Agency with additional training and support. We believe many of the specific skills in these areas are best developed vocationally rather than through an exclusive reliance on formal education. It is, however, essential that the quality and numbers of people with the underpinning science, technology and engineering is maintained and in some areas enhanced. Key areas for improvement include the supporting sciences of hydrogeology and hydrology.

The Environment Agency will continue to benefit from the technical skills bought-in through its framework contracts with consultants and contractors. The Environment Agency is keen to work collectively with these consultants and contractors to improve the longer term resilience of the necessary key skills in England and Wales.

Local Authorities now have an extended role in managing local flood risk. Ensuring the skills are in place in Local Authorities will be key to them being able to deliver their role. The skills required will be similar to those mentioned above. At present it is difficult to establish the current skills base in the over 400 Local Authorities. However, a sample assessment has identified two main issues. The first being the lack of overall capacity and the second is the age profile. The resource pool of skilled and experienced individuals will reduce in the next five to ten years due to retirements.

Professional bodies and trade associations also have an important role to play in providing advice and guidance, and in continuing professional development. The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) and the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) are actively thinking about how they can contribute to this agenda.

C. WORK WITH COASTAL ENGAGEMENT OFFICERS

We have employed coastal engagement officers specifically to help communities understand the risks they face from both coastal flooding and erosion as climate change increases the scale of the problem. We have had positive feedback on this from Local Authorities and we are continuing to build our partnership working in these areas.

D. WORK WITH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT OFFICERS

Eight engagement officers have been recruited to work at a community level in one Local Resilience Forum (LRF) area per region. They are engaging with local communities and individuals in areas at risk of flooding to raise awareness, develop skills and to empower individuals and communities to take action to manage their flood risk

The work of the engagement officers will have major input into our development of best practice and recommendations on future ways of working with communities and local partners.

Their work to date has resulted in more than 30 new community flood plans being developed and over 11,000 people within the most vulnerable and most at risk sectors of society have been informed about flood risk. Additionally, the officers have worked in partnership with many public and third sector organisations, such as Help the Aged and Housing Associations. This approach is reinforcing our flood risk messages through our partners work. The advice is targeted to communities we might not otherwise have reached using existing channels of communication that these other organisations already have. 

Positive community engagement was a feature of the November 2009 floods in Cumbria. We have developed a programme known as "Floodwise" which is a national initiative designed to develop and improve our approach to community relationships. Extensive work with local communities since 2005, using such approaches, meant that communities such as Keswick, Kendal and Appleby were actively engaged in resilience issues and many people were able to secure their property and evacuate in a planned, orderly way. In Cockermouth, with the local fire service, we were knocking on doors along the High Street just weeks before the floods, talking to people about the risk of flooding and what they could do to protect themselves and their property.  There were also local meetings to develop community emergency plans.

In the last month alone, engagement officers have:

· Met with residents associations, nurseries and caravan parks in Wales;

· Targeted communications to young families through a flood feature in a local magazine called 'Families' in the Chilterns and Thames Valley West areas of the Thames Region. Adverts were placed in magazines which were distributed to childcare outlets;

· Held a flood protection event in the South West supported by an article in the local council newsletter;

· Been out knocking on doors in communities in Anglia and Midlands that are at risk of flooding, to engage directly with residents and encourage them to do more to prepare and protect themselves and their property.

E. FLOOD DEFENCE GRANT IN AID ALLOCATION FOR 2010/11

Over £745m of Defra, Welsh Assembly Government (WAG), Local Authority and European Union (EU) funding will be allocated to reduce the risk of flood and coastal erosion in England and Wales for the financial year up to March 2011. This includes further funding to build new and maintain existing river and coastal flood defence schemes, develop flood forecasting technologies and heighten public awareness of flood risk.

This work forms part of our strategy to reduce the risk of flooding to more than 200,000 additional properties across England and Wales by 2015. Some of the key flood and coastal erosion defence projects planned to benefit from funding in the 2010/2011 financial year include:

· Nottingham (Midlands): £14m on this £51m scheme to protect 16,000 homes and businesses along a 27km stretch of the River Trent. The first stage of the works was finished ahead of schedule in January 2010, between Sawley and the River Erewash.

· Barking and Dagenham (Thames): £12m to improve protection to almost 5,500 properties. This includes the construction of two new pumping stations and the refurbishment of tidal sluices along the River Beam and Gores Brook.

· Dymchurch (Southern): £11.9m to complete ongoing works on this £60m sea defence scheme which will contribute towards the protection of over 6,000 properties.

· Wigan (North West): £5m to construct an upstream flood storage basin and bring improved flood protection to around 600 homes in Wigan.

· Kinmel Bay (Wales): £1.3m to reinstate flood banks on both sides of the River Clwyd. This work will help protect 1,150 properties in Kinmel Bay and parts of Rhyl.

· Leeds (Yorkshire and North East): almost £0.5m to progress plans for flood defences in Leeds. The proposed scheme will cost a total of £149m which is the largest ever planned inland flood defence scheme to date. The completed scheme would increase protection to one of the largest commercial areas in England and about 4,500 homes in the city centre.

· Morpeth (Yorkshire and North East): almost £0.4m to progress plans to develop flood defences in Morpeth, most recently affected by flooding in 2008. The proposed £17m scheme is scheduled to start in late 2011 and finish by late 2013, providing increased protection to 1,000 properties.

We welcome the increased Government spending on flood and coastal defences, but levels of funding must continue to increase if we are to maintain the existing levels of protection in the face of rising sea levels and the more intense rainstorms that will come with climate change. We estimate that investment in the building and maintenance of defences will need to increase to £1bn a year by 2035 (in today's prices) to maintain current levels of protection.

We already seek financial contributions from businesses and organisations that directly benefit from flood defence schemes (such as developers and industries), and will look to increasing contributions from other sources to complement the public investment from Government.

Key schemes completed during 2009/2010 include the final stages of a £40m scheme to protect 3,300 properties in Carlisle. The project, after emergency work to shore up the incomplete sections, protected 800 properties from flooding during last November's Cumbria floods. £4m of work was carried out on the Hull Tidal Barrier this financial year as part of a £8.3m maintenance programme to upgrade the structure.

The total spend for England and Wales for 2010/11 is £745m. Of this, £659m is derived from Flood Defence Grant in Aid (FDGiA) (Defra), £30m from Local Levy, £32.2m from WAG, £3.3m from EU funds/other income (Wales), £3.9m from Pitt Actions and £16.7m from other sources.

In 2010/11 in England our plans include £289.9m on new Flood Alleviation Schemes, £208.6m on Maintenance of existing assets, £40.3m on Flood Forecasting and Incident Management, £17.3m on Development Control, £15.8m on Flood Mapping and Data Management, £15.4m on environment and habitats enhancement and £12.4m on Strategies and Studies.

4 March 2010