Published 12 August 2021
Last updated 22 March 2022 + show all updates

A flood hydrology roadmap released today sets out a vision to help scientists and practitioners better predict future flood events and improve flood resilience across the UK.

The roadmap, which brings together the views of more than 100 experts from over 50 organisations, will improve hydrological data, models and science which can be used to inform how we adapt to flood risk from our rivers, surface water, groundwater and reservoirs.

These models will underpin flood risk management for decades to come, with benefits to areas including:

• design and maintenance of flood defences;
• national and local flood risk assessment and mapping;
• the design and operation of flood forecasting and warning schemes;
• design and operation of sustainable drainage systems; and
• understanding the impact of climate change on future flood risk.

The roadmap will also help us understand the impact of climate change on flood risk and will support modelling of past and future climate change impacts.

The Environment Agency has already secured £6.9 million over six years to start delivering on the roadmap and is working with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Natural Resource Wales, Department for Infrastructure Northern Ireland and UK Research and Innovation to identify routes to further funding.

Dr Sean Longfield, Lead Scientist on Flood and Coastal Risk Management Research, for the Environment Agency, and an author of the report, said:

This roadmap provides us with a fantastic opportunity to better understand the science behind flooding and will be an invaluable tool in helping us understand future flood risk.

The Environment Agency is working hard to ensure recommendations from the roadmap are followed up on so we can develop the next generation of flood hydrology knowledge, methods, models and systems that will underpin flood and coastal risk management for decades to come.

The roadmap is intended to cover England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland from 2021 to 2046. A Flood Hydrology Roadmap Governance Board has been established to ensure the roadmap is taken forward.

It comes as the government’s investment in flooding has doubled to a record £5.2 billion between 2021-27, creating around 2,000 new flood and coastal defences to better protect hundreds of thousands of properties across England.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is warning Post Office card account holders, who receive HMRC-related payments, that time is running out – with just 2 weeks left to switch their accounts.

About 6,800 Post Office card account customers, who receive tax credits, Child Benefit or Guardian’s Allowance payments, need to transfer their account by 5 April 2022 to continue receiving their money without interruption.

HMRC is stopping making payments to Post Office card accounts from 6 April. Customers, who have not done so already, must notify HMRC of an alternative account to have their payments paid into. It will not be possible to pay tax credits or Child Benefit until a valid account is provided.

These could be vital funds for families and individuals, due to the rise in the cost of living, and HMRC wants to make sure no-one loses out.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said:

Time is running out and we want to make sure that no customer misses out on the benefit payments they are entitled to. If you still need to switch your Post Office card account, contact HMRC to update your bank account details.

HMRC has been writing to affected customers since October 2019 to notify them that their Post Office card accounts will be closing and urging them to take action. More than 143,000 customers have already switched their accounts and provided HMRC with updated details.

Customers can choose to receive their benefit payments to a bank, building society or credit union account. If they already have an alternative account, they can contact HMRC now to update their details.

Child Benefit and Guardian’s Allowance customers can use their Personal Tax Account to provide revised account details, change their bank account details via GOV.UK or by contacting the Child Benefit helpline on 0300 200 3100. Tax credits customers can change their bank account details by contacting the tax credits helpline on 0345 300 3900. If customers cannot open a bank account, they should contact HMRC.

If a customer misses the 5 April deadline, their payments will be paused until the customer notifies HMRC of their new account details.

The Money Helper website, provided by the Money Advice and Pensions Service, offers information and advice about how to choose the right current account and how to open an account.

HMRC has been contacting customers recently to encourage them to take action and will continue to contact them to remind them.

The agreement enabling HMRC to make payments into Post Office card accounts was due to end on 30 November 2021. HMRC agreed a one-off extension with the Post Office to temporarily continue making payments into HMRC customers’ accounts until 5 April 2022.

The decision to change the threat level has been taken by MI5, independently of Ministers.

The Northern Ireland-related Terrorism threat level is subject to continuous review. Judgements about the threat are based on a wide range of information and it has been assessed that the threat level has now met the threshold to lower.

This is the first time that the threat level in Northern Ireland has changed in 12 years.

‘SUBSTANTIAL’ means that a terrorist attack is likely and might well occur without further warning.

Government, police and intelligence agencies will continue to work tirelessly to address the threat posed by terrorism in all its forms.

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, The Rt Hon Brandon Lewis CBE MP said:

“This is the first time the threat level in Northern Ireland has changed since 2010 and shows the significant progress that Northern Ireland has made, and continues to make, towards a more peaceful, more prosperous and safer society.

“It is a testament to the ongoing commitment to protecting the peace process and tackling Northern Ireland-related terrorism, and the tremendous efforts of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and MI5 for their hard won gains over the past decade.

“However, it is not a time for complacency. There is still a minority who wish to cause harm in Northern Ireland. As ever, the public should remain vigilant and report any concerns they may have to the police.”

Notes to Editors:

You can find out more about how the threat levels are set, what they mean and when they have changed, by visiting www.gov.uk/terrorism-national-emergency.

The statement made on 22 March 2022 by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Rt Hon Brandon Lewis CBE MP is available here.

The OIM’s report demonstrates the scale and importance of trade, which is likely to exceed £190 billion annually, between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

In its report, the OIM – part of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) – outlines the flow of goods and services across internal market borders as well as offering new insights on the extent to which regulatory policies differ between nations in the UK.

The report includes new evidence on the economics of the internal market, including data from 2 surveys.

The OIM report’s key economic findings include:

• Most firms find it easy to trade across UK nations at present, with the extent of cross-border trading either staying the same or growing over the past year
• The highest proportion of cross-border trade was in manufacturing and wholesale/retail, with each sector representing more than a third of total trade
• Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland trade more with the rest of the UK than with the EU or the rest of the world (England does not publish intra-UK trade data)
• Many markets are local and larger firms are more likely to trade with other UK nations than smaller ones

Andrea Coscelli, Chief Executive of the CMA, said:

This first-of-a-kind report on the flow and regulation of trade between the nations of the UK illustrates not only the vast scale of the internal market, but also the significance of the work the OIM has been tasked with doing.

With billions of pounds worth of trade flowing between the 4 nations every year, it’s important that the internal market operates in the interests of people across the UK. While the OIM has found little substantial regulatory difference emerging between the nations so far, this is unsurprising given how little time has passed since the implementation of Brexit.

By deepening our understanding of cross-border trade, the work of the OIM will help make buying and selling across the UK as easy as possible, wherever you’re based.

Following the UK’s departure from the EU, significant powers have been returned to the UK government and devolved administrations, increasing the possibility of regulatory differences between the 4 nations. Part of the OIM’s assessment of the internal market therefore focused on whether regulations made by the 4 governments have begun to differ from one another more since the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December 2020.

The OIM has found no evidence of substantial new regulatory differences emerging between the 4 administrations since the UK left the EU. However, this is not unexpected at this stage and differences might appear over time as governments develop and implement their programmes.

Different policies in different administrations could have implications – both positive and negative – for cross-border trade including changes in the price, quality and choice of goods and services. The OIM has identified some sectors where some regulatory differences may be more likely including: the environment, energy use, agriculture, animal welfare, food, drink and health, and some safety-related matters.

Ahead of the publication of its first statutory reports in March next year, the OIM will continue to work collaboratively with the 4 governments of the UK to help people, businesses and policymakers by improving the understanding of trade within the UK, including by developing new data. The OIM will also consider any emerging policy developments that might affect businesses’ ability to sell their products and services around the UK.

The OIM is also ready to respond to requests from the governments for reports and advice on specific regulatory provisions. People and businesses can report any issues that they think impact on the UK internal market by completing the OIM’s webform.

1. The OIM was launched in September 2021 to provide non-binding technical and economic advice to all 4 governments of the UK on the effect on the UK internal market of specific regulatory provisions that they introduce. The OIM operates independently of all 4 governments.
2. Since leaving the EU, significant powers have returned to the UK government and devolved administrations, increasing the possibility of regulatory differences between the nations. The OIM’s work assists governments in understanding how effectively companies are able to sell their products and services across the 4 nations of the UK and the impact of regulatory provisions on this for consideration alongside wider policy issues.
3. A provision (for example, legislation, regulation etc.) that is necessary to implement the Northern Ireland Protocol will fall outside of the scope of the UK Internal Market Act and the OIM will not be able to offer advice or produce reports on it.
4. The OIM is publishing this report providing an overview of the UK internal market as a discretionary output under section 33(1) of the UK Internal Market Act, six months after its establishment and a year before it is required to produce its first statutory annual and five-yearly reports.
5. The OIM is working collaboratively with the Office for National Statistics and analysts across the 4 UK nations to review and improve data on trade within the UK.
6. More information can be found on the Office for the Internal Market homepage.
7. Research by the Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence estimates intra-UK trade is likely to exceed £190 billion annually.
8. The CMA commissioned a telephone survey of nearly 600 businesses across the UK in order to understand the economics of the UK internal market in more detail and to provide more recent data than the published statistics. Analysts in all 4 governments provided valuable input to this work.
9. The CMA included questions on intra-UK trade in the Office for National Statistics’ Business Insights and Conditions survey. The survey shows that the highest proportion of cross-border trade was in manufacturing (42%) and wholesale/retail (40%).
10. For media queries, please contact the press office via press@cma.gov.uk or on 020 3738 6460.