The announcement follows a year of contrasting weather conditions, including a wet winter, record summer temperatures and widespread drought. The Met Office has warned of a “heightened potential” for wet, windy and stormy weather in the coming months.
The Flood and Drought Resilience Taskforce will hold its first meeting on Wednesday, 14 October 2026. It will bring together government agencies, local authorities and industry representatives to examine how Britain can respond to increasingly variable weather conditions.
New Taskforce Brings Together More Than 50 Organisations
According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the taskforce will involve representatives from more than 50 organisations, including the Environment Agency, Met Office, mayoral authorities, fire and rescue services, and the farming, water and insurance sectors.
Floods and Drought Minister Emma Hardy will chair the inaugural meeting, which will focus on preparations for potential winter flooding and lessons from the ongoing drought.
“We’re facing extreme weather, with flood and drought intertwined, but the government is taking decisive action,” Hardy said in a statement announcing the initiative.
The taskforce will also seek greater involvement from communities affected by flooding and water shortages. Their experiences are intended to inform future policy development and longer-term resilience planning. The initiative follows a particularly dry summer, during which Britain experienced its third drought in five years. July 2026 was the driest July in almost two centuries.
The government has committed at least £10.5 billion between 2024 and 2036 to protect homes, businesses and infrastructure from flooding. Of that wider programme, £1.4 billion is being spent on constructing and repairing flood defences during 2026/27. The new group will work alongside the existing National Drought Group, which will continue coordinating operational responses to drought.
Millions of Properties Remain Exposed to Winter Flooding
The Environment Agency estimates that approximately 6.3 million properties in England are currently at risk of flooding. That figure is expected to reach eight million by 2050 as heavier rainfall and rising sea levels increase exposure. According to Sky News, the relaunched taskforce will not receive additional powers, despite concerns about fragmented oversight of flood and drought management.
The government has also stopped short of introducing a dedicated telephone line for flood victims or an overall target for improving flood defences, measures previously recommended by Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee.
Questions remain over funding. Government climate advisers have estimated that £1.6 billion annually would be needed until 2050 simply to maintain flood risk at approximately current levels. Meanwhile, seasonal forecasts indicate an increased likelihood of wetter-than-average conditions during autumn, partly associated with the El Niño weather phenomenon.
According to the Met Office, the heightened potential for stormy conditions does not mean flooding is inevitable. The Environment Agency has nevertheless warned that repeated storms, prolonged rainfall and saturated catchments could increase the likelihood of flooding this winter.
Last winter, England received 42% more rainfall than its seasonal average, while four named storms brought disruption across the UK. Households are being encouraged to check their flood risk, register for warnings and prepare emergency flood plans before further severe weather arrives.
