§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to compensate fully local authorities for the total costs of the recent floods; and if he will make a statement. [148950]
§ Ms Beverley HughesIn addition to the emergency assistance available to local authorities under the Bellwin scheme and the extra £51 million to accelerate new flood defence schemes, my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the chair of the floods task force, recently announced that a further £11.6 million has been made available nationally to pay for the Environment Agency's short-term emergency response and repair costs.
730WIn order to find a longer-term solution to the current problems, we have already embarked upon a review of the way in which flood defence is funded. All of the relevant Government Departments and agencies are involved in this review, including MAFF, DETR, HMT and the Environment Agency. The review steering group is currently commissioning research to inform the work of the review. Based on the current timetable, the review is expected to report its conclusions in September this year.