To ask the Minister for Infrastructure to detail how his Department is adapting flood risk management plans, taking consideration of climate change.

Our approach to flood risk climate change adaption is already encapsulated in the 2021-2027 Flood Risk Management Plan (FRMP), which is required by the Water Environment (Floods Directive) Regulations (NI) 2009. The FRMP is an interdepartmental approach to managing flood risk here. It sets the objectives and measures to manage flood risk at known areas of significant risk and more widely on a regional basis.

My Department undertakes a range of climate change flood risk management measures. This includes publishing climate change flood maps, advising planning authorities in relation to development proposals in climate change flood plains and including climate change considerations in the development of new flood alleviation schemes.

In terms of our existing infrastructure the Rivers Asset Management Plan (AMP) 2020 – 2030 is another key strategic document to drive our flood risk climate change adaption work. It has identified the requirement to further invest in existing River’s flood risk management assets and made recommendations including, crucially, a need to assess of the level of flood protection existing assets actually provide when climate change flood flows are considered. This enables us to properly understand not only the investment in new infrastructure needed but how upgrades to infrastructure can also be adapted to be climate resilient.