Flooding Response position statement

1. Issue identification

Coastal, fluvial, and surface water flooding are identified as significant risks facing the UK on the 2023 National Risk Register. The National Audit Office (NAO) 2023 report on Government resilience to extreme weather identifies that around 5.7 million properties are at risk of flooding in England and that key infrastructure is at risk. The number of UK drowning deaths remains higher than deaths in fires, and the frequency and magnitude of flooding events is expected to continue to increase in the UK due to climate change.

Whilst there is the public perception that fire and rescue services (FRS) are responsible for responding to flooding incidents, there is no statutory duty placed on FRS in England to do so. However, statutory duties do exist in each of the devolved administrations.

Flooding response requires a large amount of training and investment just to maintain basic response capacity and capability, so Government financial support is critical. FRS in England experience significant funding challenges due to competing pressures and a need to fund other activities which are statutory duties. As a result, FRS in England have a limited capability to fully invest in adequate training for staff and procure access to specialist equipment.

2. NFCC position

NFCC call on Government to investigate a statutory duty for FRS in England to respond to flooding incidents which pose a risk to life. Such a statutory duty would help to embed the position both nationally and locally in terms of coordinating and preparing response, ensure consistency across the UK, and provide clarity for FRS and the public. In addition, a statutory duty also supports Fire and Rescue Authorities and Government departments’ ability to plan for business continuity arrangements to prepare for potential periods of industrial action.

Without a statutory duty and underpinning financial investment, FRS in England may fall behind colleagues in the devolved administrations, resulting in a lower standard of safety in England in comparison.

3. Recommendations

  • Government should undertake a public consultation with the fire sector and other relevant agencies on establishing a statutory duty for FRS in England to respond to flooding incidents which pose a risk to life, to bring England in line with the devolved administrations.
  • Government must provide initial capital investment alongside continuous funding to support any new statutory duty introduced for flooding response to ensure that individual FRS can invest appropriately in training, equipment, and resources to respond to incidents of flooding.
  • Government should initiate and provide continuous funding for flood assets on the National Asset Register to maintain relevant standards of equipment and training.

4. Supporting evidence

Challenges for FRS in England when responding to flooding incidents

The lack of statutory duty means there is no continuous funding for specialist flooding response training and equipment. Funding is also required to undertake prevention activities with local communities and undertake detailed reporting post-incident, which may have implications for insurance losses. A new statutory duty could provide clarity on the England FRS reporting mandate in relation to flooding incidents.

Whilst FRS in England are committed to protecting the communities they serve, a lack of statutory duty for flooding response means that if there are other fire incidents which require a response, FRS in England would be required to prioritise and resource a response to incidents which they have a statutory responsibility for.

The lack of statutory duty means that there is a lack of clarity on responsibilities and which agency should take command during an incident. This has the potential to cause delays or confusion in the response process. By identifying FRS as the primary responder through a statutory duty, FRS will have the legislative framework necessary to ensure proper coordination with partners who may co-respond during flooding incidents which pose a risk to life.

Flood risk and flood impact in England

The UK Health Security Agency estimates that approximately 6.1 million people in the UK currently live in flood prone areas. This comprises almost 1 in 10 people in the UK, however, England accounts for the greatest increase in the number of people at significant risk of flooding.

The number of people in the UK significantly at risk of flooding is projected to increase, 61% by 2050 under a modest warming scenario (increase of 2°C) and 118% in a high warming scenario (increase of 4°C) to 9.8 million and 13.3 million people respectively. The increase in flood risk in the UK is largely driven by coastal flooding and will predominantly impact England with increased flood risks in London, and northeast and southwest England.

FRS response to flooding incidents

From 2020/21 to 2021/22, the number of flooding incidents attended by FRS in England rose by 7% and another 12% from 2021/22 to 2022/23. Whilst the number of floods each year can vary depending on numerous factors, such as the frequency and severity of storms, the average number of flooding incidents has steadily increased on average. In the five years ending March 2019, there were 13,854 incidents on average each year. This compares to an average of 16,411 each year in the following five-year period, an increase of 18% totalling over 2,500 additional incidents per year.

The Pitt Review

In 2008, the Pitt Review into the 2007 floods which affected the UK made 92 recommendations and endeavoured to create greater clarity around response to flooding. Recommendation 39 stated that “The Government should urgently put in place a fully funded national capability for flood rescue with Fire and Rescue Authorities playing a leading role, underpinned as necessary by a statutory duty.”

In its response to the Pitt Review, the Government stated its support for the recommendation, agreeing for the need for a properly funded national capability for flood rescue. However, whilst a flood rescue standard, team ‘typing’ multi agency operating procedures, common training and accreditation, and multi-agency command and coordination procedures were introduced, Government stopped short of introducing a statutory duty for flood response.

National context

Since 2005, Scottish FRS has had a duty to rescue people trapped, or likely to become trapped, by water, and to protect them from serious harm in the event of serious flooding. Similar provisions were introduced in Northern Ireland in 2012 and Wales in 2017.

In the Welsh Government consultation on proposals to introduce a statutory duty on FRS in Wales to respond to flooding and other water-related emergencies, it was noted that an effective response to flooding incidents merits statutory protection. The consultation also acknowledged that, due to pressure to reduce costs, some FRS may cease to provide non-mandatory services as a means to reduce costs.

The legislative provisions in the devolved nations have enabled effective and coordinated planning to take place alongside investment in boats, training, and personal protective equipment. They have allowed FRS to review and ensure they have enough professionally trained firefighters available to tackle flood related emergencies and strengthen pre-planning and prevention related messages in conjunction with Local Resilience Forums, including post incident recovery work.

In contrast, the lack of a statutory footing to response to flooding where a life risk exists in England means that it is harder to make business cases for investing FRS time and resources into flooding response when duties with a statutory footing take precedence. Establishing a statutory duty would allow more preventative and pre-planning work, but must be supported by dedicated Government funding.

In 2010, funding was made available to FRS through the National Flood Enhancement Project, however, since the creation of the National Assets Register, no dedicated funding has been available for FRS in England since 2018 to train staff, purchase equipment, or maintain or enhance flooding provisions. Furthermore, the National Asset Register for flood rescue capabilities has seen a reduction over the past 5 years in the number of powered and nonpowered boats, available for national deployment from FRS who had traditionally supported the register. Due to cuts and the tight financial envelope over the preceding years, FRS have needed to balance their limited resources and spend to prioritise capabilities which are required to fulfil a statutory duty.

References

  1. Cabinet Office, National Risk Register 2023.
  2. National Audit Office, Government resilience: extreme weather.
  3. Home Office, Fire and Rescue Incident Statistics for England, data table FIRE0901.
  4. National Water Safety Forum, Water Incident Database.
  5. UK Health Security Agency, Health Effects of Climate Change Report 2023 Chapter 3: Climate change, flooding, coastal change and public health.
  6. Cabinet Office, Pitt Review – Learning Lessons from the 2007 Floods.
  7. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Government response to the Pitt Review.
  8. The Fire (Additional Function) (Scotland) Order 2005.
  9. The Fire and Rescue Services (Emergencies) Order (Northern Ireland) 2011.
  10. The Fire and Rescue Services (Emergencies) (Wales) (Amendment) Order 2017.
  11. Welsh Government, Consultation on Proposals to Introduce a Statutory Duty on Fire and Rescue Authorities in Wales to respond to Flooding and Other Water-Related Emergencies