Local authorities are facing a critical shortage of the expertise needed to plan for climate change, a new survey has found.

The survey, conducted by the Town & Country Planning Association (TCPA), found only 12% of local authorities strongly agree they have the skills and expertise needed to take account of flood risk now and in the future.

Only 2% of local authorities are considering future insurance availability and affordability when making planning decisions, the survey found.

It also showed only a third of local authorities are seriously considering the impacts of climate change when deciding whether to grant planning permission.

Hugh Ellis, director of policy at the TCPA, said: 'We know that the greatest challenge for many local planning authorities is a critical lack of resources.

'If we really want to drive effective change, we need to provide decision-makers with clear policy priorities, transparent methodologies, and, wherever possible, nationally agreed standards.'