The Government’s own independent advisers have said that not enough is being done to address flood risk - repeating warnings that they made over two years ago.

The Committee on Climate Change, which provides independent, evidence-based advice to the UK Government and Parliament, said this morning that more needs to be done on flood risk management in terms of both investment and the approach being taken to address the issue.

Two years ago the Committee drew attention to the looming problem and called for urgent action in its Adaptation Sub-Committee 2012 progress report which focussed on whether the UK was preparing for flooding and water scarcity in the face of climate change.

Speaking to the BBC News this morning, the Committee on Climate Change said that developments are still being built on flood plains and urban green space is being lost  at a time when scientists are predicting more extreme weather.

The committee said an extra £500m over a four-year period was needed for flood risk management. If this was not forthcoming, increasing numbers of homes would be at "significant flood risk".

Daniel Johns, the Committee's specialist on adapting to climate change, said:

"Flood damages are expected to increase across the UK. Scientists are becoming bolder in attributing recent weather events and flooding to the level of global warming already observed.”

"But measures of our exposure to flooding are going in the wrong direction. Development appears to be continuing in areas of significant flood risk despite planning controls. Urban green space is being lost and gardens are being paved over. Permeable paving options are available but their take-up appears very low.”

"As a result, we can expect avoidable flooding to take place in future years, causing as much as perhaps £3bn in damages."

The Committee warned as long ago as July 2012 that four times as many properties in England would be at risk of flooding in the next twenty years  if further steps were not taken to prepare for climate change.

The Adaptation Sub-Committee 2012 report found that in spite of the worsening effects of floods:

• Development in the flood plain increased by 12% (210,000 properties), compared to 7% in the rest of England over the past ten years. One in five of these properties were built in areas of the floodplain at greatest risk of flooding.
• Simultaneously, funding for flood defences from both public and private sources was decreasing:  12% lower for the current spending period compared with the previous period after inflation. The Environment Agency estimates that funding needs to increase by £20 million a year on top of inflation to keep pace with climate change.
• Take-up of measures to protect individual properties from flooding is 20 – 35 times lower than the rate required to safeguard all properties that could benefit.
• The proportion of gardens that have been paved over increased from just over a quarter of total garden area in 2001 to nearly half in 2011.
• The report advised than increasing investment and ensuring more careful planning of new housing in the floodplain can reduce the risk of flooding by almost four times what it would have been in 2035 without action.

Lord John Krebs, Chair of the Adaptation Sub-Committee of the Committee on Climate Change said at the time:

“Extreme weather is likely to become more common in the future as a result of climate change.  Flooding and drought are two of the most significant climate risks.  Flooding, as we have seen recently, can have a devastating impact on people’s lives and livelihoods. How we adapt to these risks will be critically important to our future resilience: whether it’s deciding not to pave over our gardens; or building in less exposed areas.

“We must take adaptation more seriously if we are to manage the growing risks of floods and droughts. This can be done by investing more in flood defences, faster roll-out of water meters and giving serious consideration to where and how we build our housing and infrastructure. Without action by households and businesses to prepare for these inevitable weather extremes the country faces rising costs, unnecessary damage and future disruption.”

Lord Krebs reiterated his comments on Radio 4’s Today programme this morning – two and half years on from when the Committee highlighted the problem to the Government.