Following the unprecedented flooding last summer, the Government asked Sir Michael Pitt to identify lessons to be learned from the emergency and make recommendations that would help the UK deal with flooding in the future.

In a keynote speech to the audience of the RUSI Critical National infrastructure Conference, Sir Michael Pitt will comment upon some of the findings from his review:
*Planning authorities will need to toughen their approach to development control, and the building regulations need major amendment.
* Flood defence spending will need to rise in real terms every spending review, and Government should plan on that basis.
* Flood defence investment decisions need to give more weighting to the protection of critical infrastructure and the risk of loss of essential services.
* Critical infrastructure operators and security organisations need to be much more open and share information about the vulnerabilities which exist.
* The case for a single flood forecasting and warning centre should be examined.
* Local authorities need the capability and powers to ensure local communities are properly protected. This means more resource for local authorities, but also requires organisations to reflect upon their internal technical infrastructure.
* We must help the public to do more to help themselves when it comes to flooding and other emergencies. Locally self-funded flood defences should become a bigger feature of the country's flood risk management.

The review is expected to conclude in the next few months, when Sir Michael Pitt will publish his final recommendations in the review's final report.