Government ‘needs to focus long-term’ on extreme weather risks

THE Government is too focused on its short-term response, rather than long-term plans, for floods, storms and heatwaves, MPs have warned.

The parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said extreme weather was on the rise with climate change and ministers must urgently act to ensure medium and long-term planning and investment in infrastructure to make it resilient to such risks.

A failure to do so could come at a high cost to individuals, the economy and society in the future, a report from the committee warned.

Extreme weather risks are some of the most serious threats facing the UK, the report said, making up eight of 89 risks in the national risk register. Recent extremes include estimated insurance losses of £250-£300 million from Storm Arwen, which hit north-eastern parts of the UK in November 2021, killing three people as trees were brought down, and cutting power to a million homes.

And the record-breaking summer of 2022, when temperatures breached 40C for the first time in England, saw 4,500 heat-related deaths in the country.

The report said the Covid pandemic highlighted the need to strengthen resilience to the national risks the UK faces, and it focuses on extreme weather to flag wider lessons on the country’s preparedness for major threats.

Darren Rodwell, environment spokesperson for the Local Government Association, said: “LGA polling found that just 5% of the public feel prepared for the impacts of climate change, following recent years of excess heat, flooding and storms.

“It also found that the public trust their council the most to lead the effort to prepare villages, towns and cities for the climate impacts. This is because councils are rooted in communities and understand places, we must be given the tools and funding needed to make that happen.”

A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “The UK has a robust and flexible system in place... We have recently made progress by establishing a dedicated team of people solely focused on our resilience, the publication of the most transparent ever National Risk Register, and launching the new 24/7 Emergency Alerts system, which was successfully deployed for the first time earlier this year. We will now consider the recommendations set out in the report.”