Environment secretary Hillary Benn has announced that the government will look into the way that the recent floods were managed and responded to by the Environment Agency, the emergency services, local authorities and others.

The review, entitled Lessons Learned, will be carried out by the Cabinet Office with support from the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

The report will focus on emergency response, flood risk management and the transfer to recovery.

"As the affected communities, businesses and individuals move to the long and difficult task of recovery, they are understandably asking questions about the flooding - its causes and subsequent management," Hilary Benn said in a written statement to the House of Commons.

"My ministerial colleagues and I have said that it is vital that we learn lessons now about how to manage and respond to this type of disaster in the future. As part of the usual process following an emergency we are establishing a review to identify these lessons and the prime minister stated on July 8th that the conclusions of such an exercise would be made public."