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Wednesday, October 14, 2026

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Extreme Weather & Flood Preparedness

by Owen Donovan

October 14, 2026

in Environment & Rural Affairs, Issues

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Extreme Weather & Flood Preparedness

Is this devolved to Wales?

Where is this happening?

What's happening?

Why is this happening?

Who has been affected?

What's happening?

Why is this happening?

Who has been affected?

Charts (if needed)

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Souce text, source text, source text.

£ 85 million To be spent on new flood management projects during 2026-27

Who has raised this at the Senedd?

Rhun ap Iorwerth MS

First Minister

Llŷr Gruffydd MS

Rural Resilience & Sustainability Minister

Matthew Jones MS

Backbencher

Niamh Salkeld MS

Backbencher

Sera Evans MS

Chair: Education & Young People

Lis McLean MS

Co-Chair: Culture

Laura Anne Jones MS

Shadow Rural Affairs Minister

Steve Bayliss MS

Backbencher

James Evans MS

Chair: Environment & Rural Affairs

Thomas Montgomery MS

Shadow Skills Minister

Vikki Howells MS

Senedd Commissioner

Mike Hedges MS

Backbencher

Andrew RT Davies MS

Senedd Commissioner

Paul Davies MS

Conservative Whip

Sam Rowlands MS

Chair: Finance

Anthony Slaughter MS

Backbencher

Rhun ap Iorwerth MS

First Minister

Llŷr Gruffydd MS

Rural Resilience & Sustainability Minister

Matthew Jones MS

Backbencher

Niamh Salkeld MS

Backbencher

Sera Evans MS

Chair: Education & Young People

Lis McLean MS

Co-Chair: Culture

Laura Anne Jones MS

Shadow Rural Affairs Minister

James Evans MS

Chair: Environment & Rural Affairs

Steve Bayliss MS

Backbencher

Thomas Montgomery MS

Shadow Skills Minister

Vikki Howells MS

Senedd Commissioner

Mike Hedges MS

Backbencher

Andrew RT Davies MS

Senedd Commissioner

Paul Davies MS

Conservative Whip

Sam Rowlands MS

Chair: Finance

Anthony Slaughter MS

Backbencher

What are the party positions on this?

Plaid Cymru backbenchers have backed the creation of an independent flood forum and have stressed a need to address the human impacts of flooding, such as poor mental health and housing.

A number of the flood alleviation schemes in train across the constituency are still under construction and will likely not be completed in time for this winter. Although I think key lessons have been learned as a result of previous flooding events and the local lead flood authorities will have a better understanding of the vulnerabilities in their networks, there will be gaps in protection while these schemes are ongoing.

Research by the British Red Cross highlights the challenges that are faced by people in vulnerable situations when flooding eventually happens. The research found that most people were completely unprepared when flooding hit. Many were displaced for months from their homes, often living in unsuitable accommodation, struggled to get recovery grants, and almost all of them said that their mental health had been significantly impacted by the flooding.

I have to say that I do feel this is very encouraging, what we've heard from your statement. It's really good to hear that many of the things that have been put in place in the past are now bearing fruit, such as the national flood forum—that's fantastic. I truly do believe in the power of networks that work across Wales to help each other, so that's fantastic.

Reform UK support increased investment in flood management, but have questioned the amount of money available, how areas are chosen for flood defences, and the length of time it takes to get anything done.

At the end of the day, it'll be no surprise to anyone here that there will be a lot of rain in Wales this winter.....What we're trying to establish in Wales is how prepared are we for storms like this, like the devastating storm Claudia. Why is it that communities such as Skenfrith that have been severely flooded four times in six years still don't qualify for urgent funding, when there's a clear need for it? Why is it that our precious rural villages across Wales have to build, for example, an extra 20 to 200 houses to satisfy the Government's criteria to get the urgent help that they need and deserve?

Local authorities have a duty to publish reports of investigations into significant flooding incidents—section 19 reports. Wrexham Council has warned that they usually take between nine months and a year to complete their reports….Bearing in mind that these reports identify the cause, likelihood of reoccurrence, and any appropriate alleviation measures that can be taken, their importance is key. But the delays around completing these reports don't appear to be addressed in your statement.

You mentioned on a number of occasions the sustainable farming scheme, but actually I think the figure is £102 million, not £100 million, which you quoted. I hope there hasn't been a cut there. There is no actual ring-fenced support within the sustainable farming scheme for flood prevention and mitigation, but it is an overarching aim of the scheme to deliver that….If you want farmers to go into it, you'll have to provide the funding to enable them to go into these schemes.

Labour has expressed support for an emergency fund and nature-based solutions to flooding.

First Minister, my colleague Jayne Bryant, asked you, during your oral statement last week, whether the Welsh Government would consider bringing in a climate resilience fund to help us mitigate the impacts of extreme weather....Now, there's widespread support for this from stakeholders that we on the Welsh Labour benches have engaged with over the summer recess. And with resources for agencies involved in climate mitigation measures being really stretched, this is one way to safeguard those funds and make sure they're channelled in the right way.

In Government, Welsh Labour delivered the highest-ever level of investment in flooding, with more than £377 million committed to flood risk management over the last Senedd term. That investment meant that 52,000 properties were protected from flooding, helping to safeguard homes, businesses and communities across Wales. For this last financial year, we invested that extra £85 million, including almost £43 million in capital funding for new schemes across Wales.

You can believe that climate change is not happening, it does not stop it happening or stop the repercussions of it. Will the Government consider taking the following action? Plant trees on higher ground to reduce floods at source; introduce beavers into rivers to create ponds and wetlands that slow down river flow; promote the use of planted areas, rain gardens and permeable paving to allow water to drain away. We're not going to stop the water coming down, but at least we can do something with it.

Conservative MSs back the Welsh Government’s push for more people to take up flood warnings, but raised concerns about conflicting roles during extreme weather and the slow pace of delivery of flood defences.

What assessment have you made of the resilience of (emergency) services to deal with the risk of floods going through the winter months, and, in particular, the working roles that they play working together, from the local authorities to the fire service to NRW, in making sure that they are in a position to respond accordingly? That is important as well from a Government point of view, because a lot of these responsibilities, such as the fire service, sit with the local government Minister, NRW sits with you, and then the finance Minister, who undoubtedly gets called for more resources on a financial footing, obviously has to make a call in that respect.

I was struck by your statement and your reference to flood defence works in Llanrwst. I believe those are in response to flooding events that took place probably in 2020 when I was the council leader there at that point in time. So, six years later to get delivery perhaps is not the pace that you would want to see. I'd be interested in your response around how you'd want to see pace of delivery accelerated.

Green MSs have expressed support for the creation of emergency funds as a response to extreme weather driven by climate change.

Wales is dangerously unprepared for the predicted onslaught of extreme weather conditions. Climate response must be integrated as our first line of defence. Welsh Government allocated in its supplementary budget just £1 million for emergency preparedness. Establishing a climate shock fund would be a vital step forward in demonstrating that the Welsh Government is serious about protecting communities this winter, with or without UK Government support.

Jane Dodds hasn’t said anything on this specifically.

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Who is responsible?

Rhun ap Iorwerth MS

First Minister

What have ministers said?

Natural Resources Wales is running its annual Be Flood Ready campaign....The campaign highlights three simple steps that everyone can take to be better prepared for flooding. Firstly, you should check your property's flood risk, and you can do that online. NRW's website allows people to check flood-risk information using their postcode and an interactive map. Secondly, then sign up for free flood warnings, from both rivers and the sea. Warnings can be received via text messages, e-mail or voicemail messages, and people can register through NRW's website or by contacting Floodline, and I will share the number: it's 0345 988 1188.

We are giving flood-affected communities a stronger voice through a new independent Welsh flood forum. The new forum will support communities recovering from flooding and will strengthen preparedness and resilience for future events. It will be based on the successful model implemented in Scotland, and I can confirm that the forum’s steering group met for the first time last week. It brought together people with lived experience of flooding and partner organisations.

There are, in effect, a number of funds, aren't there, on which a Government can draw to deal with emergencies. What you want to make sure is that those funds themselves are resilient. I absolutely am ready to consider whether we can bring together funds in one place, in the same way as the Government is looking at how we can put preventative health funds under one banner, so that we can measure better what the various elements of those funding capacities are.

What's being done about this?

What do the Welsh Government want to do?

Does this need a new law or regulations?

How long will this take?

What do the Welsh Government want to do?

Does this need a new law or regulations?

How long will this take?

What have the Senedd's Committees said?

Nothing has been discussed yet.

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Relevant Votes

Nothing to see yet.

Further Reading

StatsWales. “Properties at risk of flooding in Wales“

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Tags: CON-02 CON-05 CON-06 ENV 10 GR-01 LB-06 LB-08 National PC-01 PC-01-M PC-10 PC-10-M PC-16 PC-22 PC-40 PC-42 RF-03 RF-06 RF-16 RF-25