§ Mr. McMasterTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if capital expenditure by local authorities, including the capital repair of housing stock, is recoverable under the Bellwin scheme; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. StewartThe Bellwin scheme applies only to expenditure of a current nature.
§ Mr. McMasterTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if the cost of furniture storage by(a) local authorities, (b) individual tenants and (c) individual owner-occupiers will be rechargeable at 85 per cent. of gross costs under the Bellwin scheme.
§ Mr. StewartThe cost to local authorities of storing furniture is in principle eligible for grant under the Bellwin scheme, provided that the other criteria of the scheme are met.
§ Mr. McMasterTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the elements of flood prevention measures which are reclaimable under the Bellwin scheme.
§ Mr. StewartThe cost of emergency repairs to flood prevention work can be eligible for grant under the Bellwin scheme. The construction of new works, or the carrying out of longer-term works of reinstatement which would be of a capital rather than a current nature, are not eligible for such grant.
§ Mr. McMasterTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how affected regional and district authorities can maximise their claims in relation to the Bellwin scheme; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. StewartThe regional and district councils affected by the recent floods can maximise the assistance they obtain under the Bellwin scheme by ensuring that they include in their claims all items of expenditure eligible under the scheme. The Scottish Office finance circular number 6/1990, a copy of which is in the Library, gives guidance on what could be eligible under the scheme, and what is excluded. Officials of the Scottish Office have had discussions with some of the relevant councils to explain the arrangements and will give advice as necessary.
§ Mr. McMasterTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the trigger figure for the Bellwin scheme for each(a) district, (b) regional and (c) proposed unitary authority in Scotland.
§ Mr. StewartThe present thresholds for all existing local authorities in Scotland are in the table. Thresholds for the new unitary authorities are not yet available.
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Authority 1994–95 threshold £ Regions: Borders 164,304 Central 423,730 Dumfries and Galloway 234,432 Fife 541,408 Grampian 783,305 Highland 312,175 Lothian 1,183,230 Strathclyde 3,591,706 Tayside 601,048
Authority 1994–95 threshold £ Districts: Aberdeen 49,357 Angus 21,821 Annandale and Eskdale 8,847 Argyll and Bute 15,170 Badenoch and Strathspey 2,640 Banff and Buchan 19,538 Bearsden and Milngavie 9,224 Berwickshire 4,537 Caithness 6,049 Clackmannan 11,268 Clydebank 10,764 Clydesdale 13,374 Cumbernauld and Kilsyth 14,216 Cumnock and Doon Valley 10,371 Cunninghame 32,182 Dumbarton 17,976 Dundee 38,859 Dunfermline 29,942 East Kilbride 19,490 East Lothian 20,023 Eastwood 13,685 Edinburgh 104,963 Ettrick and Lauderdale 7,980 Falkirk 33,635 Glasgow 164,869 Gordon 16,932 Hamilton 24,654 Inverclyde 20,977 Inverness 14,342 Kilmarnock and Loudoun 19,221 Kincardine and Deeside 11,688 Kirkcaldy 34,978 Kyle and Carrick 27,047 Lochaber 4,404 Midlothian 18,387 Monklands 23,981 Moray 19,530 Motherwell 33,369 Nairn 2,433 Nithsdale 13,391 North East Fife 15,979 Perth and Kinross 29,132 Renfrew 46,490 Ross and Cromarty 10,928 Roxburgh 8,446 Skye and Lochalsh 2,678 Stewartry 6,658 Stirling 18,523 Strathkelvin 19,641 Sutherland 3,173 Tweeddale 3,587 West Lothian 33,431 Wigtown 7,134 Islands: Orkney 35,274 Shetland 39,053 Western Isles 52,413
§ Mr. McMasterTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the dates on which the Bellwin scheme has been invoked in Scotland since 1980; if he will give the locations and reasons in each case; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. StewartThe Bellwin scheme was introduced in 1983. Since then, it has been triggered six times as follows:
- 28 April 1989
- All Scotland.
- 8 February 1990
- All Scotland.
- 8 January 1991
- West of Scotland of which: Strathclyde Region, Highland Region, Dumfries and Galloway Region, Districts within those Regions, Western Isles Islands Council.
- 10 January 1992
- Shetland Isles Islands Council, Orkney, Isles Islands Council, Western Isles Islands Council, Highland Region, Central Region. Districts within those Regions.
- 18 January 1993
- Tayside Region. Districts within that Region.
- 19 December 1994
- Strathclyde Region. Districts within that Region.
In 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992 it was activated following a combination of flood and storm damage. In 1993 it was activated principally for the exceptional flooding in Tayside region, but this had been preceded by severe winds and blizzards.
§ Mr. McMasterTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the main components of expenditure which are reclaimable under the Bellwin scheme and those which are not; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. StewartScottish Office finance circular No. 6/1990 sets out the rules governing the operation of the Bellwin scheme in Scotland.
Eligible expenditure under the scheme must be incurred by a local authority in providing relief and carrying out immediate works to safeguard life or property or prevent suffering or severe inconvenience to affected communities.
The main categories of expenditure that could in principle be eligible under the Bellwin scheme are:
the cost of additional temporary employees or of contractors called in to work directly on the emergency or to replace permanent employees diverted from their usual work;special overtime paid to permanent employees in the emergency or, later, to catch up on work from which they have diverted;the cost of hiring additional plant and machinery;emergency works required to safeguard dangerous structures, including temporary repairs to highways, pavements, footpaths; the cost of evacuating people from dangerous structures and temporarily housing them (including associated social services support);the costs of supplying food, other stores and key services to affected communities;the costs of maintaining key communications, in particular clearing of roads.Expenditure excluded from the scheme includes:
the normal wages and salaries of the authority's regular employees or the standing costs of plant and equipment;the cost of dealing with any damage or loss that is insurable under normal insurance policies;longer-term works of repair and restoration, and repair and refurbishment of damaged but not dangerous structures;payment to householders and others in respect of damage to non-insurable items such as garden fences and trees and shrubs, unless action must be taken immediately because they present a danger to the community.
§ Mr. McMasterTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when the Bellwin scheme was(a) initiated and (b) last reviewed or revised; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. StewartThe Bellwin scheme has been in force since 1983 and specific statutory powers were provided in section 155 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. The scheme was last revised in March 1990 following the decision to increase the grant rate from 75 per cent. to 85 per cent.
§ Mr. McMasterTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the Bellwin scheme as it applies to the victims of the Strathclyde floods in December 1994.
§ Mr. StewartThe Bellwin scheme, through the assistance it gives to local authorities in dealing with the financial effects of emergencies, allows local authorities to provide relief and carry out immediate works to safeguard life or property or prevent suffering or inconvenience to affected communities in the knowledge that 85 per cent. of all eligible expenditure above each authority's threshold will be reimbursed by grant under the scheme.