Written questions by Spencer.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 June 2025 to Question 57090 on Rivers: Flood Control, how much of the £200 million funding for river asset management will be allocated to Suffolk County Council.

The Environment Agency (EA) is allocating approximately £200 million for the management of flood and coastal risk management assets in 2025/26. This funding, which is managed by the EA and not allocated to other risk management authorities, will enhance our ability to manage flood risks and ensure public safety. £4 million of this funding is allocated to asset management activities within Suffolk County Council’s boundaries in 2025/26.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 June 2025 to Question 57090 on Flood Control and the Answer of 11 June 2025 to Question 57092 on Flood Control: Finances, if he will set out how the £2.65 billion of funding for flood and coastal erosion risk management for 2024 to 2026 (a) has been and (b) will be spent.

We are investing a record £2.65 billion in 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences. The full list of over 700 schemes to benefit from fresh funding this year was announced on 31 March 2024 and can be found here. Information on spend can be found here, and information on plans can be found here.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 June 2025 to Question 57090 on Rivers: Flood Control, how much of the £200 million funding for river asset management will be allocated to preserve the River Deben in Suffolk.

Of the £4 million that the Environment Agency is allocating for the management of flood and coastal risk management assets within Suffolk County Council’s boundaries in 2025/26, approximately £300,000 has been allocated to asset management along, or close to, the River Deben.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 June 2025 to Question 57090 on Flood Control and the Answer of 11 June 2025 to Question 57092 on Flood Control: Finances, how much of the £2.65 billion funding for flood and coastal erosion risk management for 2024 to 2026 (a) has been and (b) will be allocated to Suffolk County Council.

We are investing a record £2.65 billion in 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences. The full list of over 700 schemes to benefit from fresh funding this year was announced on 31 March 2024 and can be found here. In 2024/25, Suffolk County Council received a funding allocation from the investment programme of £900,000. In 2025/26, Suffolk County Council received an allocation of £500,000. Information on spend can be found here, and information on plans can be found here.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications for Flood Risk Activity Permits were made in 2024.

Flood Risk Activity Permits are issued under the Environmental Permitting for work:on or near a main riveron or near a flood defence structurein a flood plainon or near a sea defence In 2024, the Environment Agency received 2191 permit applications for Flood Risk Activities. Approximately 3% of these met the threshold to qualify for a Standard Rules Permit and 97% required a Bespoke Permit.

Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding his Department allocated to councils in England to carry out recommendations of flood investigation reports under section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 in (a) 2021/22, (b) 2022/23, (c) 2023/24 and (d) 2024/25.

Under section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, lead local flood authorities must investigate flood incidents to the extent that they consider it necessary or appropriate, publish the results and notify relevant risk management authorities. These investigations help to improve knowledge and raise awareness of local flooding and inform local flood strategies and investment. The Local Government Settlement provides funding for local authorities and the services they deliver. This includes the management of local flood risk and flood investigations. Flood investigations could be used to identify and support new flood projects, which could secure funding from the government’s record £2.65 billion investment programme. Defra has worked with lead local flood authorities to develop non-statutory guidance for carrying out flood investigations. The guidance was published in April 2025 and provides a best practice framework for producing clear and consistent reports. It can be found on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/investigating-a-flood-guidance-for-lead-local-flood-authorities/investigating-a-flood-guidance-for-lead-local-flood-authorities.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support landowners with riparian rights.

Working with partners and stakeholders, the Environment Agency (EA) published new guidance for riparian landowners in 2024 on Your Watercourse: rights and roles. This new, easily accessible guidance aims to increase riparian landowners understanding of their roles and responsibilities. The guidance is assisting local teams in raising public awareness at events and during in person conversations with riparian owners. Information is also available on GOV.UK on both riparian ownership, maintenance and permitting. The EA has also delivered learning sessions with regional advisors from the National Farmers Union and Country Land and Business Association, allowing them to better advise their members on riparian responsibilities. Some works by riparian owners may require a formal permission from the relevant authority before they can be carried out. This is to ensure that impacts on flood risk, land drainage and the environment can be managed. Information about this is also available on GOV.UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce inland flooding.

The Environment Agency (EA) has a strategic overview role for all sources of flooding and works closely with local authorities to reduce flood risk and provide advice and guidance to support communities to be better equipped and prepared for flooding. Between 2024 and 2026 the Government is investing £2.65 billion to build and maintain flood and coastal erosion risk management defences. Delivered schemes will better protect around 52,000 properties from flooding and coastal erosion, with maintenance activities benefiting a further 14,500 properties. The EA also provides the Check for flooding service, giving information on flood alerts and warnings as well as a 5-day forecast. Its flood warning system directly alerts 1.6 million properties in England who are registered to receive flood warnings.

Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding his Department will allocate to councils in England to carry out recommendations of flood investigation reports under section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 in (a) 2025/26, (b) 2026/27 and (c) 2027/28.

Under section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, lead local flood authorities must investigate flood incidents to the extent that they consider it necessary or appropriate, publish the results and notify relevant risk management authorities. These investigations help to improve knowledge and raise awareness of local flooding and inform local flood strategies and investment. The Local Government Settlement provides funding for local authorities and the services they deliver. This includes the management of local flood risk and flood investigations. Flood investigations could be used to identify and support new flood projects, which could secure funding from the government’s record £2.65 billion investment programme. Defra has worked with lead local flood authorities to develop non-statutory guidance for carrying out flood investigations. The guidance was published in April 2025 and provides a best practice framework for producing clear and consistent reports. It can be found on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/investigating-a-flood-guidance-for-lead-local-flood-authorities/investigating-a-flood-guidance-for-lead-local-flood-authorities.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the risk of river bank failure in cases of heavy rainfall.

The Environment Agency (EA) maintains a wide range of flood and coastal risk management (FCRM) assets, which reduce the risk of flooding to people and property. These assets include embankments, pumping stations and flood gates. The EA inspects and reports on the condition of flood risk management assets in England. This includes our own and third-party assets that work together to protect people and property. Where assets are below required condition then the EA assesses their structural integrity and if there is concern, they make plans to repair those assets. Occasionally the EA is required to exercise their emergency powers to undertake urgent work to repair failing or failed assets that pose a risk to serious flooding. This year, approximately £200 million is allocated for asset management, with an additional £72 million repurposed to support the maintenance and repair of our most critical assets. Together, these measures significantly enhance our ability to manage flood risks and ensure public safety.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many Flood Risk Activity Permits were issued in 2024.

Flood Risk Activity Permits are issued under the Environmental Permitting for work:on or near a main riveron or near a flood defence structurein a flood plainon or near a sea defence In 2024, the Environment Agency received 2191 permit applications for Flood Risk Activities. Approximately 3% of these met the threshold to qualify for a Standard Rules Permit and 97% required a Bespoke Permit.

How many private schools Ministers in her Department have visited since 5 July 2024; and which schools they have visited.

I refer the hon. Member for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich to the answer of 06 May 2025 to Question 46839.

When she plans to provide a substantive response to the Freedom of Information Act request of 14 February 2025 with reference number 2025-0005461.

The department responded to this freedom of information request on 7 May 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's Review of affordability and availability of flood insurance to help evaluate the effectiveness of FloodRe, published in October 2022, if he will publish the raw data of the BMG quantitative survey of households.

The department has no plans to publish this data. Conclusions, research methodology and materials for the 2022 review of affordability and availability of flood insurance can be found here. Conclusions, research methodology and materials for the Independent review of flood insurance in Doncaster can be found here.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Independent review of flood insurance in Doncaster led by Amanda Blanc, published on 14 April 2020, if he will publish the raw data of the BMG quantitative survey of consumers and businesses.

The department has no plans to publish this data. Conclusions, research methodology and materials for the 2022 review of affordability and availability of flood insurance can be found here. Conclusions, research methodology and materials for the Independent review of flood insurance in Doncaster can be found here.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help support farmers following the closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive to new applicants.

This Government is proud to have secured the largest budget for sustainable food production in our country’s history, with £5 billion being spent to support farmers over a two-year period. Following the announcement that Defra has closed SFI for the submission of new applications, outstanding eligible applications that have been submitted will be processed. SFI is an important offer, but it is part of a wider package. We remain committed to investing in agri-environment schemes. We plan to launch the new Higher Tier scheme later this year; Capital Grants will re-open in summer 2025; we continue to move forward with Landscape Recovery; and we are increasing payment rates for Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement holders to recognise their ongoing commitment to delivering environmental outcome. Funding from the farming budget also supports the provision of advice within the sector. The Farming Advice Service can assist farmers to review what advice and guidance is available to meet their business needs.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help support farmers following the closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive.

This Government is proud to have secured the largest budget for sustainable food production in our country’s history, with £5 billion being spent to support farmers over a 2-year period. Defra has closed the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) for the submission of new applications, existing agreements will continue. Every penny in all existing SFI agreements will be paid to farmers, and outstanding eligible applications that have been submitted will be processed. We will provide further details about the reformed SFI offer once the Spending Review has been completed. Whilst we are developing the reformed SFI offer, other schemes will still be available. SFI is an important offer, but it is part of a wider package. We remain committed to investing in agri-environment schemes. We plan to launch the new Higher Tier scheme later this year; Capital Grants will re-open in summer 2025; we continue to move forward with Landscape Recovery; and we are increasing payment rates for Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement holders to recognise their ongoing commitment to delivering environmental outcome. Funding from the farming budget also supports the provision of advice within the sector. The Farming Advice Service can assist farmers to review what advice and guidance is available to meet their business needs.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Early Language and Support for Every Child pathfinders programme on attainment for pupils in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich; and what the cost is per child of the programme.

Early Language Support for Every Child (ELSEC) is a pilot ‘test and learn’ programme being delivered across nine pathfinder sites, one in each English region, covering 12 local authorities. Central Suffolk and North Ipswich are not part of the pilot programme.According to the programme’s reporting data, therapy support teams have helped 13,000 children so far, and just over 1000 setting staff have been upskilled in delivering interventions. The interim programme evaluation is allowing the department to explore insights into the effectiveness of ELSEC delivery at a local level. A final evaluation will take place following the end of the summer term 2025.

What assessment her Department has made of the impact of the Nuffield Early Language Intervention programme on attainment for pupils in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich; and what the cost per child is of the programme.

Early language skills are vital to enable children to thrive in the early years and later in life, including for all aspects of later attainment in school. That is why in July 2024, this government announced that funded support for the Nuffield Early Learning Intervention (NELI) programme would continue for the 2024/25 academic year. To date the department has invested over £20 million in the NELI programme, which supports reception aged children needing extra support with their speech and language development. In randomised control trial evaluations of the programme at scale, when supported by departmental funding, NELI was proven to help children make, on average, an additional four months progress, or seven months for those eligible for free school meals. The implementation cost of the NELI programme has been rated as ‘very low’ by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), when compared to other programmes that EEF have evaluated. It is estimated since 2020 that 650,000 children have had their language screened nationally from the investment in the NELI programme nationally. Based on the £20 million investment, the cost to the department works out, on average, to be as little as £31 per child. EEF’s findings in relation to the NELI programme is available at: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/promising-programmes/nuffield-early-language-intervention.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Partnership and Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools programme on attainment for pupils in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich; and what the cost is per child of the programme.

Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) is a cross-government programme, backed by £13 million of investment, delivered through collaboration between the Department for Education, the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England. PINS brings together integrated care boards (ICBs) local authorities and schools, working in partnership with parents and carers to support schools to better meet the needs of neurodivergent children and their families. The programme which began under the previous government deploys specialists from both health and education workforces to strengthen training for teachers and upskill around 1,600 mainstream primary schools, which equates to approximately 10% of the total number of mainstream primary schools in England. Building teacher and staff capacity to identify and meet the needs of neurodivergent children provides the opportunity to enhance support and improve outcomes for all children in this whole-school approach. As the programme takes this whole-school approach and the benefits support all children, the department would therefore not be able to indicate a specific cost per child. The department has commissioned an independent evaluation of the PINS programme. This has been designed to look at the implementation of the programme in primary schools and explore the impact on primary schools’ ability to better support neurodiverse pupils. The evaluation includes exploring attainment, and it covers all ICB areas currently participating in the programme.