A new Flood and Drought Resilience Taskforce will meet for the first time on Wednesday 14 October, bringing together more than 50 organisations as the government seeks to strengthen Britain's preparedness for extreme weather after a year that produced both the driest July in almost two centuries and warnings of a wetter winter ahead.

The taskforce, announced by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, will be chaired by Floods and Drought Minister Emma Hardy. Members will include the Environment Agency, the Met Office, mayoral authorities, the Fire and Rescue Services, and representatives of the farming, water and insurance industries.

What the taskforce will do

According to the government's announcement, the group will "share expertise, from understanding risks and assessing preparedness to supporting a longer-term resilience strategy for floods and drought, helping to protect communities and the economy." The government said the voices of communities affected by flooding and drought would be "central" to the taskforce, through direct engagement and the inclusion of more community-based groups, so that lived experience informs future policy.

At its first meeting, the agenda will focus on assessing the nation's preparedness for potential flooding this winter. The government said current assessments show the country is "better prepared compared to last year," and the meeting will also examine how members have improved their response and discuss emerging lessons from the ongoing drought.

The new taskforce is intended to complement, not replace, the existing National Drought Group, which the government said will "continue to play its vital role in coordinating and overseeing the operational response to drought." Officials said the taskforce will maintain strong links to the drought group, drawing on its expertise and insights to inform work on longer-term strategic resilience.

Scale of the flood risk

The BBC reported that the Environment Agency has warned approximately 6.3 million homes and businesses in England remain at risk of flooding. The broadcaster said the taskforce was being launched to help the UK prepare for extreme winter weather, after the Met Office described a "heightened potential" for wet, windy and stormy conditions in the coming months following a summer of record-breaking temperatures.

The Met Office has said its current seasonal outlook points to an increased likelihood of wetter-than-average conditions during autumn, partly linked to the El Niño weather event, which it said is likely to be the strongest in living memory, with its peak not expected until the end of the year. The Environment Agency has said that while flooding is not guaranteed this winter, the odds of repeated storms, prolonged rain and saturated catchments are higher than average, and it has urged households to check their flood risk, sign up for alerts and prepare a flood plan.

The BBC noted that last winter brought four named storms to the UK — Bram, Goretti, Ingrid and Chandra — along with several significant flooding events, with the Met Office reporting that England received 42% more rainfall than its winter average. This followed what the broadcaster described as the country's hottest summer on record in 2026.

Government funding and minister's comments

The government says it is delivering the largest flood defence programme in English history, with at least £10.5 billion committed between 2024 and 2036 to protect homes, businesses and critical infrastructure. It said £1.4 billion is being spent in 2026/27 on building and repairing flood defences, and that every £1 invested in flood defences prevents around £8 in economic damage. Officials also pointed to recent measures taken in response to the drought, including holding water companies to account over leaks, a £65 million funding boost to help farmers build resilience, and changes to rules intended to make building on-site reservoirs easier.

Emma Hardy said: "We're facing extreme weather, with flood and drought intertwined, but the government is taking decisive action." She added: "We're taking a smarter, more joined-up approach to manage the nation's water and set up our new Flood and Drought Resilience Taskforce. This will put communities and businesses at the heart of our work and will make sure the UK is ready for whatever the weather brings next." Hardy said the government was "also backing that ambition with historic investment, including £4.2 billion for existing and new flood defences that will protect even more people in the years ahead."

Background

This year has brought what the government describes as a wet winter followed by a long, hot summer, producing the third drought in five years. The new taskforce is being presented as a structural change in how the government coordinates its response to both extremes of weather, rather than treating flooding and drought as entirely separate policy challenges, reflecting official concern that climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of both.