Flood protection is set to be given a boost in Cumbria as part of a Government scheme.

A new Cumbrian Floods Partnership Group has been set up to look for extra measures in the county to protect it during extreme weather.

It is set to produce a new action plan for Cumbria by next summer.

This has been announced by Environment Secretary Liz Truss and the group will be chaired by Floods Minister and Penrith and the Border MP Rory Stewart.

The new group will consider improvements to defences in the county, ways to slow rivers upstream to cut the intensity of water flows and build stronger links between residents, community groups and flood defence planners.

The group will be made up of local authorities, the EnvironmentAgency and community flood defence groups.

Ms Truss said: “After seeing first-hand the impact of the flooding in the north of England it is clear that the growing threat from more extreme weather events means we must reassure ourselves and those communities at risk, that our defences, our modelling and our future plans are robust.”

She also announced a National Flood Resilience Review to better protect the country from future flooding and increasingly extreme weather events.

She outlined how her department would look at how to calculate risks to be delivered by a new cross Government team in light of what happened in the county.

This will see Government updating ‘worst case scenario’ plans, considering the future impacts of climate change and carrying out a risk assessment of infrastructure, like electricity substations.

The review will also be published next summer and will be led by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Oliver Letwin and include the Government’s Chief Scientist, the Environment Agency’s chief executive and members of several other Government departments.

Ms Truss said: “We are already spending £2.3 billion over the next six years to better protect 300,000 homes from flooding but we need to be sure we have the very best possible plans in place for flood prevention and protection across the whole country.

“We will take prompt action where we identify any gaps in our approach and where our defences and modelling need strengthening.”

Mr Stewart will take on a special “Floods Envoy” role across Cumbria and Lancashire coordinating the recovery operation across local agencies over the coming months.

The Chancellor, George Osborne, has already announced an additional £51 million to support households and businesses affected by last weekend’s floods in Cumbria and Lancashire. The total support pledged by the Government is over £60m.

This will be in addition to £2.3bn of investment over the next six years to build 1,400 new flood defence schemes designed to protect 300,000 more homes.