The Welsh Assembly Government has outlined new proposals to deal with flooding in Wales. The improvements were prompted by the flooding in Summer 2007.

The Assembly said that the need for the improvements had been confirmed by the publication of  the Environment Agency Wales report ‘Flooding in Wales: A National Assessment of Flood risk’ which provides a snapshot of the current flood risk across the country.

The Assembly has recently reached a new joint agreement on flooding with the insurance industry aimed at providing homes and businesses greater protection against the impact of flooding. Ministers and the Association of British Insurers (ABI) have agreed to work together to improve the management of flood risks and to help people recover more quickly when flooding occurs.

The Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing Jane Davidson said:

"Only last month Welsh communities were affected by flash flooding. With forecasts showing the increased rainfall due to climate change the risk of flooding is set to increase.   Irrespective of the height of our defences or the capacity of our drainage systems, we will have to adapt to more extreme weather.

“In Wales we have been advocating a move from flood defence to flood risk management for some time.  This agreement between the Welsh Assembly and the ABI is one measure to sit alongside hard defences of our rivers and coast, raising awareness of the risks of flooding amongst our vulnerable communities and increasing their resilience to flood events.

"Insurance companies will continue to provide effective and efficient claims services following flooding whilst the Welsh Assembly Government will put in place various measures to mitigate against flood risk’.

"This confirms our shared commitment to work together to provide a long-term solution that will enable flood insurance to remain as affordable and widely available as possible. We are already taking action to promoting general insurance to low income households through Community Housing Cymru, the Chartered Institute of Housing and through our financial inclusion strategy.”

Flood insurance to continue to be made "widely available"

The agreement outlines how the Welsh Assembly Government and the ABI will work together to provide a long term solution to enable flood insurance to continue to be made as widely available by:

• improving understanding and awareness of flood risk
• putting in place a long-term strategy (of over 25 years) to reduce flood risk and encourage action to mitigate and minimise the risks and costs of flooding
• ensuring the planning system prevents inappropriate development in flood-risk areas  and
• raising awareness in areas where flood risk is significant

Actions the ABI have agreed include:

• to continue to make flood insurance available for homes and small businesses and promote access to insurance for low-income households and
• to encourage customers to reinstate flood damaged property in ways which makes it more resilient to flooding

Justin Jacobs, the ABI's Assistant Director of Property Insurance said:" The Welsh Assembly Government rightly recognises that a long-term flood strategy, backed by adequate resources and funding, is the best way to manage the growing flood threat.

"We look forward to continuing to work with the Welsh Assembly Government to ensure that these measures are implemented so that flood protection relied upon by homeowners and businesses remains widely available."

Previous agreements have been made between the ABI and UK Government and did not always reflect the circumstances in Wales. The agreement will now be reviewed annually.