The plight of nearly 5,000 households still living in temporary accommodation 12 months after Britain was hit by widespread flooding will be condemned in an official review released next week.

The treatment of the families and the response by Government, local authorities and insurance companies, will be described as “worrying and perplexing” in the report, The Times has learnt. Its author, Sir Michael Pitt, is “really angry” at how they had suffered in the flooding aftermath, Whitehall sources said.

More than 4,700 households are still living in temporary housing after last summer’s torrential downpours across the South West, the Thames Valley, the Midlands, Yorkshire and Humberside. Of these, a thousand are having to live in caravans. The Government admitted yesterday that it was still not known how long it would be until all were rehoused.

Alan Legrand, 64, said that he expected to face another six months living in a motorhome on the drive of his three-bedroomed house in Immingham, near Grimsby. “We are the forgotten ones now. We’re not on the TV every day and people have short memories. I don’t think people really care,” he said.

A total of 13 people were killed and 48,000 homes and 7,000 businesses were flooded as an average of 16in of rain fell across England and Wales between May and July last year. It led to insurance claims totalling £3 billion, the biggest single claims event in British history.

The official report into the Government’s response will suggest radical new insurance policies which would cover entire communities in flood-risk areas. Ministers and insurance companies should also fund a new advertising campaign to highlight the importance of insurance protection, especially for the poorest households, Sir Michael will propose.

One Whitehall source said: “Sir Michael is really angry and upset about these families who are still out of their homes. You can expect tough words to the insurance industry and he expects a lot more to be done to help people get insurance.”

Sir Michael is particularly concerned by the thousands of people whose property was uninsured. One in eight households still living out of their home still do not have insurance and, according to research for the Norwich Union, 95 per cent of people in flood-risk areas have not made any changes to their homes to prevent flooding.

The Pitt report will also demand that anyone buying a house should have the right to know its flood history and its flood risk status. The adoption of home information packs is seen as the simplest vehicle for sellers to declare this information.

The Environment Agency already has a flood alert system for people living near rivers or the coast and it is trying to produce maps to identify the places most at risk of surface-water flooding.

Sir Michael is also to call on the Government and the Association of British Insurers to fund technical research to find ways to speed up the drying out of flooded homes. The six-month drying-out period for the average family home has been the main reason why so many people are still living in temporary accommodation.

The Pitt report also demands more urgent action from the Government, local authorities and utility companies to make vital public services and key infrastructure – such as electricity and gas sub-stations, sewerage and water centres and telephone exchanges – flood-proof.

Sir Michael, a civil engineer and chairman of the South West Strategic Health Authority, is to publish his report on Wednesday when Hilary Benn, Environment Secrertary, is also due to make a staement to MPs that day. His department has already budgeted some £35 million to implement the recommendations.