Rachel Reeves to announce £8BILLION over ten years to fix crumbling flood defences
is set to announce nearly £8 billion for flood defences in a ten-year infrastructure pledge.
Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses will see better protections over the next decade, ministers have said.
It will be part of £725 billion in capital spending on the country's infrastructure, about half of which is new promised money.
The Chancellor will unveil the plan this week alongside Keir Starmer and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner in a bid to offer certainty for businesses. It will cover transport, housing and public services.
About half of the £725 billion was allocated in last week's Spending Review, and the new part is a 'commitment' for the following five years – funded through borrowing.
The flooding money will be used to build new defences and repair existing ones, as well as planting more trees to absorb water.
It will be targeted at regions badly impacted by floods, including Yorkshire and the Midlands.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed said Labour 'inherited crumbling flood defences', adding: 'This Government is taking urgent action with the largest flooding programme in our country's history.'
Ms Reeves said a lack of investment in infrastructure has been ' holding back communities and stunting economic growth', adding: 'We are investing in Britain's future, brick by brick, road by road and track by track.'
The Centre for Policy Studies said public spending had rocketed since pre-Covid levels to the equivalent of £24,095 per adult.
Health spending will reach £4,056 per adult by 2028-29 – a 22 per cent real-terms rise since before the pandemic.
A spokesman described the levels of state spending as 'not sustainable'.
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