Government has been forced to defend the need to build thousands of new homes on designated floodplains, after parts of the country were hit by freak floods in July. The flooding came in the very same week as the government launched its housing green paper. Prime minister Gordon Brown said: “We are tightening up advice about new build, which makes it clear flooding must be taken into account. <br><br>Under new planning guidelines introduced in 2006, if there is a question mark over an area the Environment Agency will be asked for advice, and if a particular application is referred upwards, the EA can make its views known to the secretary of state if a housing development is at risk of flooding.” Brown added that environment secretary Hilary Benn was undertaking a review “to look at the impact on the environment of our need to protect ourselves against floods,”which will “ask questions about drainage, flood defences and where infrastructure should be built.” This would report back in autumn, said Brown, adding that government would increase flood defence budgets from £600 million to £800 million in 2010/11. <br>