Sir Keir Starmer’s senior ministers have drawn up plans to cope with extreme weather this winter following the devastating floods in Spain.
The cross-government work will ensure “we are domestically as resilient as we possibly can be” over the winter, Downing Street said.
At Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband pointed to warnings that 600,000 people in the UK could be at risk of flooding in future because of climate change.
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden led the Cabinet briefing on winter preparations, adding that “recent events in Spain were a reminder of the impact that, for example, extreme weather can have on local communities”.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We’re always preparing for all eventualities, whether it’s the impact of extreme weather, whether it’s impacts on the NHS.”
The discussion about preparations for winter, which also included an update from Health Secretary Wes Streeting about NHS readiness, followed an update from Sir Keir and Mr Miliband about the upcoming Cop29 climate summit in Azerbaijan.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “The link was made to the fact that climate change can result in extreme weather events. We have obviously seen these very devastating scenes in Spain.”
More than 200 people have been killed in Spain as a result of the flooding around Valencia.
There would be no specific changes made following the events in Valencia, the spokesman said, but “the UK has always focused on making sure that we have preparations in place, we are domestically as resilient as we possibly can be, to weather events including flooding”.
Mr Miliband outlined the impact climate change would have around the world.
According to an official readout of Cabinet he said “climate change is a threat to national security and growth, given climate change could force more than 200 million people globally to migrate”.
That could mean a global economy “19% smaller in 2049 than it would be otherwise, and it could put an additional 600,000 people in the UK at risk of flooding”.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “I think this is modelling based on an independent report that sets out various scenarios for climate change and global rise in temperatures. And I think it brings into sharp relief the impact of climate change on the UK.”
A 2022 National Infrastructure Committee report warned that the number of homes and properties in England at risk of surface water flooding could rise from 325,000 today to 600,000 by 2055.
