Of course, my Lords. If the noble Baroness will forgive me, I have to deal with the amendment before me, which goes primarily to the issue of adaptation. Of course we are working on mitigation as much as we can. The noble Baroness will have seen quite a lot of publicity over the weekend on that very matter. She indicates that she has not but she will believe me if I show her that there was such publicity from the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
The Association of British Insurers and a number of leading insurers have signed up to the ClimateWise principles for insurers. The six principles include a commitment to publish an annual statement of action taken and to:
“Support Government action, including regulation, that will enhance the resilience and reduce the environmental impact of infrastructure and communities”.
While, for the reasons I have set out, I feel strongly that the amendment is unnecessary, I state categorically that this in no way reflects a lack of commitment from the Government on the vital matter of flood risk and climate change. During this Parliament we will be spending record amounts on managing flood risk and our new funding approach is set to attract more contributions from local partners than ever before. We have also made an unprecedented six-year commitment to record levels of capital investment in improving defences up until 2021.
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Noble Lords have often cited the projected increases in flood risk that were outlined in the climate change risk assessment. Although these projections must and will of course be heeded, it is important to remember that this study was indicative in nature and, crucially, did not take into account any new defences that would be built over that period. It modelled the impact of climate change based on the flood defences at the time. We are also getting better at forecasting and warning people when flooding is anticipated. The Flood Forecasting Centre combines the knowledge and experience of the Met Office and the Environment Agency to deliver longer lead times for flood alerts and more accurate, targeted information to responders. This provides people in areas at risk of flooding with more time to protect themselves and their homes from the effects of flooding. Managing flood risk is a joint effort. We are already taking steps to make this easier; for instance, by supporting a number of projects across the country which are looking at what action communities can take and by making it easier for farmers to manage watercourses to reduce the risk of flooding.
As I expect your Lordships know, businesses and homeowners affected by flooding this winter will be eligible for grants of up to £5,000 per house and per
business under the repair and renew grant to help people build in better resilience to flooding. The Government are committed to ensuring that our country is resilient to the impacts of climate change and that flood risk is managed effectively. For the reasons I have set out, I am confident that these amendments are not needed and I hope that the noble Lord will agree to withdraw his amendment.