§ Mr. Bill WalkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, which local authorities will benefit from the Bellwin scheme invoked after the severe storms in February of the current year; and by how much.
§ Mr. RifkindThe claims have now been assessed and I can announce that a quarter of a million pounds in grant will be made available for those authorities which, in terms of the scheme of special financial assistance which I announced on 27 April, suffered an undue financial burden in responding to the storms and floods of February.
The details of the grant are:
£ Highland Regional Council 207,975 Inverness District Council 29,250 Western Isles Islands Council 14,058 251,283 Subject to parliamentary approval of a supplementary estimate which will be presented shortly payments will be issued to those authorities as soon as possible.