The Government has come under criticism from west Cumbrian MP for failing rejecting a series of structural changes put forward by a select committee.

A report published in November by the Environmental, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) Committee included creating a national floods commissioner for England and forcing developers that flout planning rules and increase the risk of flooding to meet the costs.

However the Environment Department (Defra) has said that there is "no need for structural changes" and that £2.5bn will be invested in building flood defences.

Labour's Workington MP, Sue Hayman, said that the recommendations made by the select committee would have provided assurances to her constituency.

Mrs Hayman, who is also shadow minister for flooding and coastal communities, said: "I am incredibly frustrated that the Government has not committed to take forward any of the key recommendations from the report.

"The large number of my constituents who live in flood risk areas need assurances that the Government is acting urgently in order to improve the situation.

"I’m calling on ministers to take flooding more seriously – and acting upon the committee’s key recommendations would be a good first step.

"We need immediate action on flood insurance, planning and building regulations, and investment in flood resilience measures. My constituents whose homes and livelihoods have been destroyed by flooding deserve nothing less."

Meanwhile Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said that the decision to provide the Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership with money for a flood resilience scheme was "particularly short-sighted".

The Westmorland and Lonsdale MP said: "Politicians in Westminster might have forgotten the destruction that last winter’s floods caused, but local people certainly have not.

"This is a real kick in the teeth for local people who suffered under last year’s floods."

A Defra spokesman said: "We take a long-term, strategic approach to protecting the nation from floods.

"We are investing £2.5bn on building flood defence schemes across the country to better protect an additional 300,000 homes by 2021, bringing an end to year-on-year fluctuations in spend.

"Working closely with the Environment Agency, we are already implementing many of the report's suggestions, such as managing watercourses across entire catchment areas, but there is no need for structural changes."