River Thames Scheme excluded from consultation on Flood Defence Partnership Funding Policy Reform?

I received the following from the Thames RFCC:

Defra launched a public consultation on Investment Reform that closes on Tuesday 29th July.  This proposes major updates to the Partnership Funding policy ahead of the next investment programme starting April 2026.

Key proposals include:

·       A simplified approach to funding new flood resilience projects

·       A proposed approach to prioritising flood resilience projects

The consultation also includes a Call for Evidence on longer-term options exploring alternative funding sources and devolution.

The Environment Agency has collaborated closely with Defra to develop the proposal and therefore will not be submitting a response. We are encouraging all local and national stakeholders to respond to the consultation. 

Please see a link to the 70 page consultation documents Reforming our approach to floods funding – Defra – Citizen Space

My comments will be published after I have considered the consultation document.  I may be mistaken but it looks like the River Thames Scheme has been specifically identified to be excluded from the process.  [This revised approach will apply to most FCERM resilience projects funded through the Floods Investment Framework. However, it is not expected to apply to potential ‘mega’ projects, such as the River Thames Scheme and the Thames Estuary, which are likely to require bespoke funding arrangements.]

I wonder why?  Multiple reasons to follow…………

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