From the Environment Agency: How we’ll use the money we have for the people we serve

by Sir James Bevan, Environment Agency Chief Executive

Most of the Environment Agency’s work is funded by government grant. Following the recent Spending Review, which set government budgets for the next three Financial Years, we have now received our allocations for FY 2022/23 and finalised our plans.

We will receive an increased government grant in FY 22/23 to reduce flood risk. We will get a total of £728m capital, which mostly pays for fixed assets like new flood defences; and £303m “resource”, which mostly pays for people and running costs. We will use this money to build more new flood defences; to maintain our existing defences; to warn and inform people when flooding threatens; to respond to flood incidents and protect and support communities; and to provide planning advice to reduce flood risk.

We will also receive an increased government grant for our environment work in FY 22/23. We will get a total of £44m capital and £95m resource.  While our core environment grant which funds our monitoring of the environment, enforcement of the regulations which protect it and response to pollution incidents will stay more or less the same, we will get a significant amount of new money on top of this. We will use that to step up our efforts to improve water quality, including by increasing the number of inspections we do of farms and sewage works – the two major sources of water pollution; to invest in our water transfer schemes which help reduce drought risk and in running our river navigations like the Thames; to improve air quality and biodiversity; to deliver the new post-Brexit chemicals regulations; to enhance our planning and placemaking work; and to support green finance.

The full statement can be read here.