Environment Agency

On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (HC 528 2006-07) the Committee examined how well the Environment Agency carries out its role to protect people and properties from the risk of flooding and whether it adequately monitors and maintains the standards of existing flood defence systems. They concluded that the Agency was unable to show its maintenance teams were deployed efficiently or that they focused their resources on high risk flood defence systems. They could make more effective use of their existing funding by: better prioritisation, aided by enhanced management information systems; better targeting of resources based on flood risk in different parts of the country; and reducing the programme and project development costs of constructing defences.