National Flood Resilience Strategy: implementation report 2021 - 2025

Ministerial Foreword

This report to Parliament sets out the progress made in implementing the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 during the 2021 to 2025 parliamentary period.

During this period, Scotland has experienced a number of significant flooding events, causing disruption and distress for affected communities. While these events highlight the ongoing challenges posed by flooding, they also reinforce the importance of continued action to strengthen Scotland’s flood resilience and preparedness.

Despite these pressures, substantial progress has been made including the completion of flood protection schemes at Smithton and Culloden, Kirkintilloch, Broughty Ferry, Drumnadrochit, Upper Garnock, Millport Coastal, Arbroath, Stonehaven, Caol and Lochyside, New Cumnock, Stranraer, Hawick and Campbeltown. Collectively these completed schemes provide improved flood protection for approximately 4,400 properties.

The publication of the second cycle of Flood Risk Management Plans and Local Flood Risk Management Plans in 2022 marked a significant milestone. Building on the 2016 Plans, they provide a strong, evidence-based framework to guide long-term investment and decision-making, helping to ensure that resources are targeted to communities at greatest risk.

While challenges remain, particularly in the face of a changing climate, Scotland is well placed to build on the strong foundations already established. Climate change is increasing both the frequency and severity of flooding, through rising sea levels, more intense rainfall and increased river flows. Continued collaborative action will therefore be critical to ensuring communities remain resilient in the years ahead.

In recognition of this, the 2022 Programme for Government committed to developing a new national approach to flood resilience. This commitment was delivered through the publication of Scotland’s first National Flood Resilience Strategy in December 2024. The Strategy sets out a clear, long-term framework to 2045 and beyond, placing communities at its centre and strengthening coordination across all delivery partners.

In the decade since 2016, the Scottish Government has allocated £570 million to local authorities for flood resilience. This investment represents strong value for money, with UK evidence suggesting that every £1 invested in protecting communities from flooding can avoid around £8 in economic damage.

Storm Babet in 2023 provided a powerful reminder of the impacts that severe flooding events can have on communities across Scotland. We have acted decisively on the lessons learned from that event, driving improvements in our national approach, including the development of a Flood Recovery Framework. This will help ensure that clear, consistent and timely support is available for affected communities, strengthening coordination and enabling a faster, more effective response to future events.

We have also drawn valuable lessons from the delivery of flood protection schemes and have provided funding to SEPA to develop options for a Flood Advisory Service. This service once developed will provide oversight and scrutiny of nationally significant flood protection schemes in future.

Empowering communities remains central to our approach. Initiatives such as Scottish Flood Forums’ Flood Resilience Vehicle, Flo, demonstrate the practical steps that can be taken at a local level to improve preparedness and build resilience.

We are also making progress on coastal adaptation, with local authorities advancing Coastal Change Adaptation Plans, supported by dedicated funding and the development of a national coastal monitoring programme.

Delivering a flood-resilient Scotland will require sustained commitment, clear prioritisation and continued collaboration. The challenges are significant, but so too is the collective determination and capability across government, delivery partners and communities to address them.

This report provides Parliament with a clear account of that progress and reaffirms our commitment to protecting communities, strengthening resilience, and responding decisively to the growing impacts of climate change.

I invite members across all parties to continue working together with the Scottish Government and our delivery partners to support this shared endeavour—through constructive scrutiny, shared insight and cross-party collaboration—so that together we can build on the progress already made, strengthen resilience further and ensure that communities across Scotland are increasingly well protected now and for generations to come.

Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Rural Affairs