UK Report Flags Flood and Heat Risks to Railways, Prisons and Health Services

Flood exposure is widespread across several UK public services, while gaps in departmental reporting make it hard to judge how well those services can withstand extreme weather. A report from the National Audit Office (NAO) identifies risks to railways, prisons and healthcare, and says the information now available does not yet show the full scale of the potential damage or how it is being managed.

The clearest figures concern flooding. The NAO found that 89% of prisons face a high flood risk. Sites managed by the National Health Service recorded 391 flooding incidents in 2024-25. Flooding was the most frequently identified hazard in the disclosures examined for the report.

Those figures point to exposure across services that depend on buildings and infrastructure staying usable. The report also describes damage to railways from both heat and flooding. It says extreme heat has damaged roads and railways, while schools and hospitals became dangerously hot during the summer. Floods, meanwhile, are becoming more frequent and more destructive to key infrastructure such as railways.

More disclosures, but an incomplete picture

This is the first year larger UK government departments have been required to publish full details of the climate risks they face. The NAO said that many departments are still at an early stage in understanding those exposures, and some have not supplied the disclosures needed for a proper assessment.

That limitation matters because a list of hazards cannot, by itself, show how disruption may affect service delivery or public finances. Decision-makers need to see which sites and assets are exposed, what steps are being taken to manage that exposure, and where weaknesses remain. The current reporting offers an initial view, but missing information makes comparisons and assessments of readiness harder.

NAO head Gareth Davies said clear information is needed about infrastructure resilience, service provision and finances, as well as the way climate risks are managed. He said the reporting is expected to become more useful over time. That expectation sets a practical test for future disclosures: they need to explain not just what could be affected, but how prepared services are to respond.

Heat affects operations as well as infrastructure

Heat presents a different set of pressures from flooding. Damage to roads and railways can affect physical assets, while overheated schools and hospitals can make the buildings themselves difficult to use safely. The report also links prison overheating with a tendency toward more violence. That finding shows how a physical condition inside a facility can carry operational consequences as well as maintenance costs.

Flooding can bring its own chain of effects. When a rail line or public-service site is affected, the immediate damage is only one part of the assessment; the continued availability of the service also matters. The report does not quantify all those wider effects, which is one reason the NAO says the scale of the exposure remains difficult to gauge.

Readiness will depend on clearer targets

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chair of the Committee of Public Accounts, said departments still have work to do in setting meaningful targets. He welcomed better reporting but said the public needs to know how prepared services are to manage the risks, rather than receiving only a list of hazards.

For insurers and other organisations assessing public-sector exposure, the disclosures offer a starting point rather than a complete account of risk. The reported figures identify where flood exposure is prominent and show that heat has already affected transport and public buildings. Yet without fuller detail on preparedness and risk-management measures, it is difficult to connect exposure with likely disruption or financial consequences.

The next useful step is for departments to make their reporting more specific and consistent over time. Readers tracking infrastructure and service risks can watch for clearer targets, better descriptions of protective measures and updates that show whether departments are closing gaps in their assessments. The NAO’s findings make the immediate picture plain: the hazards are already affecting essential services, while the evidence about readiness remains incomplete.