Emma Hardy MP: speeches

Speeches

• 1 Jul 2026 · Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re · Hansard source

  More

  I absolutely love Slow the Flow, and I made a delightful visit to my hon. Friend’s constituency to look at the flood defences there. The halving of the contents-only flood element to £25 will make a huge difference to the cost of living. Flood Re policies should be automatically ceded by the insurance companies, and that should be clearly communicated. I am encouraging Flood Re and the insurance companies to ensure that communication is as clear as possible so that people know exactly what their rights are, particularly when it comes to accessibility to Build Back Better.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re · Hansard source

  More

  As the hon. Gentleman will know, that particular scheme is supported by MHCLG. However, we have been having conversations about the best way that we can support people collectively as a Government in the floods resilience taskforce.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re · Hansard source

  More

  The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right: flood insurance companies should behave with integrity towards their customers. If he would like me to follow that up with the Association of British Insurers, I would be happy to do so.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re · Hansard source

  More

  I welcome the opportunity to update the House on the reforms that Flood Re is announcing today, with the support of this Government. The changes will ensure that Flood Re remains fair, sustainable and focused on those who need it most, while supporting a transition to a more resilient insurance market by 2039. Flood risk unites Members across this House. We all recognise the devastating impact that flooding has on people and communities and the importance of having access to affordable insurance. That is why this Government have put a record amount of investment into flood protections and simplified the funding rules. This year alone, we have unlocked £1.4 billion to enhance flood resilience across England, funding more than 600 projects and better protecting more than 70,000 properties from the devastating impacts of flooding. Despite that record investment, flooding is an ever-increasing risk. Flood Re was established to manage a transition to prices that better reflect underlying flood risk and promote the affordability and availability of insurance. Since its launch, Flood Re has been a big success, and it is a strong example of Government and industry working together to address systemic risk—a partnership that started to be strengthened under a Labour Government after the 2007 floods. Flood Re works by receiving a subsidy paid for by households that buy insurance. That money is used to purchase insurance so that households that would not be able to get insurance in an open market have affordable premiums. However, the context in which Flood Re operates has changed; rising claims, higher reinsurance costs and more properties being identified as at risk are placing increased pressure on the scheme. We now have a perverse system in which money collected from all insurance customers, from all parts of the country and all income brackets, is flowing to the richest households in the country. That is not fair and needs to change. In three of the last four years, Flood Re has spent more on repairing homes in the most expensive council tax bands of G and H, which make up less than 4% of UK homes, than it has spent on repairing homes in council tax bands A and B, which make up around 45% of homes. Let me give an example that shows why change is necessary. In 2025 a property near a river was flooded, resulting in a claim cost to Flood Re of more than £3 million. The property had very limited flood resilience measures in place, and the claim covered extensive restoration costs, including a quad garage, an indoor swimming pool, a jacuzzi and gym, a music room and den, a machinery storage unit, an outdoor astroturf padel court, and a five-a-side football pitch. It is right that all properties are insured, but without reform of Flood Re, we will continue to have a system in which average-income and low-income households are subsidising flood insurance for the richest households in the country. That is why reform of Flood Re is needed—not to set a new policy direction, but to restore it to its original purpose. That is what we are doing. First, Flood Re will work with insurers to reform its premium model so that support is better targeted. It will aim to make premiums as fair as possible across different council tax bands, regions and areas. Secondly, Flood Re will introduce a cap on the claims that insurers can pass to it, limiting payouts to an agreed level, with insurance companies covering the remainder. That will be worked out with Flood Re and insurers. Thirdly, I have spoken to people who have lost everything through flooding and have been unable to afford contents insurance, so I am delighted that Flood Re is more than halving the premiums it charges to insurers for contents-only insurance for the 45% of homes in council tax bands A and B to £25 a year from April 2027. This Government are restoring fairness. We are making insurance affordable and helping with cost of living pressure. Finally, Flood Re will improve efficiency, make better use of its resources and reduce reliance on costly reinsurance while maintaining financial resilience. However, to protect all homes from ongoing flood risk, we need more than just floor insurance and large flood defences; we need individual homes to become more flood resilient. That is why Flood Re will work with insurers and lenders to introduce flood performance certificates, helping households to better understand their flood risk and ensuring that if they take actions to make their homes more resilient, that is reflected in the cost of their premiums. That builds on the work of the recommendations in the “FloodReady” report. Flood Re will also strengthen incentives for Build Back Better, a UK home insurance sector initiative that, instead of simply restoring a home to a condition exactly as it was before, allows an additional £10,000 as part of the insurance claim to improve the flood resilience of the home. These reforms will be implemented from 2028, with the reduction in contents premiums for council tax bands A and B taking effect from April 2027. Flood Re will keep the scheme’s eligibility criteria under review, including how it applies to leaseholders. Under this Government, more homes are better protected from flooding than they were when we came into government. Our country will become more resilient to flooding as homes are incentivised to take action with flood performance certificates, and the 45% of people living in average-income and low-income households will be able to afford to protect their homes from the devastation of flooding. That is the difference that a Labour Government make, and I commend this statement to the House.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re · Hansard source

  More

  I well remember very well my hon. Friend raising the issue affecting his constituency. Let me reassure him. The flood performance certificate pilots will include social housing and lower-income communities, as we recognise that some will need support to increase their resilience. We are piloting the certificates across a range of different homes so that we can gather that intelligence before we decide what further steps to take.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re · Hansard source

  More

  The original purpose of Flood Re was to make flood insurance affordable for people who otherwise would not be able to access affordable insurance on the free market. This is not new policy, but returning Flood Re to the purpose for which it was created.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re · Hansard source

  More

  As I am sure the hon. Gentleman knows, that is a question for MHCLG, not DEFRA. However, we work closely with MHCLG to make sure that the homes that we desperately need in this country are built in areas that are not prone to flooding, and do not contribute to flooding elsewhere.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my hon. Friend for recognising the money that we are investing in York, not least owing to the formidable campaigning that she has undertaken for a long time, and also for identifying the need to look at the longer term. Of course Flood Re will continue to look at eligibility to ensure that it is acting according to the principles on which it was set up, to ensure that there is affordable insurance for all who need it.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re · Hansard source

  More

  I would be delighted to pay tribute to Woodborough Flood Action Group for tirelessly working to protect the local community. My hon. Friend is a formidable champion of his area, and I commend him for raising this issue with me again. It is a very exciting project, and I hope to be able to visit it at some point.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re · Hansard source

  More

  I do not recognise the figures that the hon. Gentleman has given. This Government have put more money into flood protection than any other Government on record: that is an absolute and indisputable fact. However, I do hope that he has a great time when the Floodmobile visits his constituency. It is fantastic, and demonstrates real, practical examples of ways in which people can take action to improve their flood resilience.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re · Hansard source

  More

  I recognise how difficult it is when people cannot afford insurance. There are no current plans to look at homes built after 2009, but of course the Government always keep everything under review.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend is right to highlight how difficult it is for people to continually have to take action, especially elderly people, as well as the mental health impact of thinking they are going to have to do something to try to protect their home every time it rains. I would be happy to help convene a meeting with all the relevant parties.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re · Hansard source

  More

  The hon. Lady is quite right. People should not only check their insurance to make sure that it covers everything, but check to ensure that they are covered for Build Back Better, because not every insurance company offers that cover at this moment. We will be piloting flood performance certificates as soon as possible, and as soon as they are ready I will be more than happy to update the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee with more details of exactly how this will work and where.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re · Hansard source

  More

  I know how difficult the loss of those homes has been for the hon. Lady and her constituents. Losing one’s home because of coastal erosion must be devastating. There are no current plans to consider Coastal Re, but, of course, Flood Re keeps eligibility criteria under review.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re · Hansard source

  More

  I know how much my hon. Friend cares about this issue. Indeed, we have visited some of the areas in his constituency that have been flooded. I remember the devastating loss in his constituency prior to the election; he was out there on the frontline, helping to lead some of the flood recovery work. On the impact of this change, we need to work carefully with insurers on Flood Re. We have said we will introduce the cap by 2028 to enable them to have the time to work through things carefully and properly. It is about fairness. Council tax bands G and H represent 4% of properties, yet they make up 20% of claims on Flood Re. We want to make this change in conjunction with insurers. Piloting the flood performance certificates will be so important, and that has to be done hand in hand with people. We want to incentivise people by saying, “If you take action to improve your home and make it more resilient to flooding, you will be rewarded with lower premiums.” We are trying to encourage people to do the right thing where they can, while recognising that there are people at other end of the scale—some of the people we have seen in my hon. Friend’s constituency—who are simply unable, for various reasons, to take action to improve the resilience of their own property. It is all about keeping things in balance.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re · Hansard source

  More

  The hon. Lady raises an important point, and I absolutely recognise the impact that flooding has on businesses. Through the floods resilience taskforce, we have been looking at the various grants that are available. As she will know, that sits within the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, but conversations are happening across Departments.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the hon. Gentleman and the EFRA Committee for their work. He will have heard our commitment to the £30 million coastal fund, which is looking at what we should do about managing coastal erosion and the risks of coastal flooding.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re · Hansard source

  More

  The hon. Gentleman is right to raise the concern about surface water flooding, which, owing to climate change and flash flooding, is becoming a greater risk than it ever was in previous years. As I have said, there are no current plans to look at businesses, but it should be possible for domestic properties to be covered by Flood Re. However, if the hon. Gentleman wants to write to me about this, he can of course do so.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend knows that I share his love of nature-based solutions and natural flood management, so he will be as delighted as I am that we are putting a minimum of £300 million into natural flood management under our current plans.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend raises an important point. We are continuing to work with the Government, the regulator and industry to review the scheme eligibility criteria, including considering options to better support leaseholders.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re · Hansard source

  More

  I am pleased to be responding to the hon. Lady, because I think that the very first Adjournment debate I had as a Minister was with her and it was about flooding. It is nice that whenever I make a statement about flooding, I already know who will be in the room. I commend her on her tireless campaigning on this issue and the commitment she has shown to her constituents. I have been pleased to go and see those property flood resilience measures and the difference they have made to communities. Flood performance certificates will be piloted, and those communities are an example of where householders have taken measures—albeit in this case through the Environment Agency—to better protect their homes from flooding. When people do that, it should be reflected in their premiums, and there is not currently a way to do that. The system looks at postcodes and areas, and gives people a premium on that basis, but we want to make it more intelligent, so that it can recognise if someone has made their home more resilient to flooding—that should mean that they have cheaper premiums.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the hon. Gentleman, and I recognise his commitment to flood protection. He referenced our meeting, at which we discussed the £50 million that we are putting into Somerset because of its particular landscape and challenges. He is right to highlight the accounts that Flood Re has produced; without reform or change, we would be in a poor situation. Flood Re has been an amazing success, but to continue for the next 10 years, it needs to change. That is why we are introducing the changes that I have mentioned: targeting those who most need support by introducing a cap, making contents cover cheaper for lower council tax bands, and the work on the premium model. One of the other changes, which is probably not as eye-catching, is allowing Flood Re access to some of its trapped capital to make reinsurance costs cheaper. All of the reforms that Flood Re is introducing are intended to ensure that it is sustainable and keeps going. Turning to continued support for flood protection, the hon. Gentleman will know that we have put the most money into flood protection of any Government ever, with £10.5 billion committed for the next 10 years. There are no current plans to include businesses because, as I said, Flood Re works by levying every insurance company; if we were to include businesses, we would be levying every business in the country to pay for it. For people in the top council tax bands, we are looking at flood performance certificates, so that if they can take action to improve the resilience of their home, that will be reflected in their premiums. We are doing some pilots, and I have been pushing insurance companies and others to get those pilots out the door as quickly as possible. We are not just looking at the top council tax bands; we are also looking at people in social housing to see how flood performance certificates could work. As for when these changes are going to take place, contents insurance changes will take effect from 2027, but the cap will be from 2028. Up until that period, Flood Re will be carrying out extensive engagement with insurers and other people to make sure they are setting affordable limits. This is all about ensuring that Flood Re is there for the next 10 years.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re · Hansard source

  More

  I recognise the work that my hon. Friend has done on this issue through the Environmental Audit Committee. Although businesses are not eligible for Flood Re, the record amount of money that we are putting into flood defences should help to make flood insurance more affordable right across the country. Exactly as she says, building resilience and preparedness is what makes a difference, as well as insurance companies paying out every time there is a flood. We need to make our country more resilient, and that is a huge focus of the work I am doing.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re · Hansard source

  More

  The hon. Lady is quite right to say that we need to take action on the risk of flooding. That is why this Government are putting the most money into flood protection and taking action against flooding of any Government ever. In our first year in government, we delivered 151 flood schemes, better protecting more than 24,000 homes; that was after we put £108 million into maintenance to restore and repair our flood defences, many of which were in a poor condition. We are also putting £300 million into natural flood management—again, the most money any Government have ever put in. We have put in another £30 million for coastal adaption, and we have reformed the flood funding formula to ensure that it gives proper weight to deprivation, so that the communities that are most affected by flooding and least able to recover have more support. Total funding for internal drainage boards is £91 million, so I think we have ticked the box for “Have this Government put their money where their mouth is when it comes to protecting our country from flooding?” We have not only done that; we are also looking at sustainable urban drainage systems and at introducing flood performance certificates, so that we can reward homes that have become more resilient to flooding. We are also looking at a fundamental change to how we address resilience and flooding as a country. When flooding happens, the people who go out there and do the work in the communities—whether local people, the Environment Agency or all the emergency services—deserve our absolute support, because the only thing I cannot protect this country against is climate change.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re · Hansard source

  More

  I pay tribute to my hon. Friend, because before he was elected as a Member of Parliament, he was running part of the Living With Water project in my constituency, which looked at bringing together the Environment Agency, Yorkshire Water and the council to create more sustainable urban drainage to improve resilience to flooding. He played a tremendous role and has made a real difference to many people’s lives. I share his delight that Flood Re is more than halving the premiums it charges insurers for contents-only insurance for the 45% of homes in council tax bands A and B to £25 a year. That will make a real difference to people’s lives, making insurance more affordable for everybody.