An additional £2.6 million will be made available to help English households protect their homes against future flooding. The second round of a £5.5 million grant scheme was announced by English floods minister, Huw Irranca-Davies and is part of the government's response to a review of the 2007 floods, estimated to have cost the country £3.2 billion in total.

       As part of the funding, the £2.6 million will be allocated to 34 schemes in areas at high risk of flooding, enabling 532 households to benefit from practical flood protection solutions such as air bricks covers, storm porches, door guards and flood boards.Funding has been promised to 49 local authorities to tackle surface water flooding and improve drainage in areas that struggle to cope during heavy rainfall. More than 1,600 properties are expected to benefit directly from the works and the plans will help local authorities understand better the ways of managing flood risk for a further 112,000 properties.