§ Mrs. Ray MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what statutory requirements are in operation to provide advance public warning of flooding around the Scottish coast; if he will list those places which have a standard advance public flood warning system in operation; what form these systems take; what Government assistance is provided for this purpose; and if he will make a statement.
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 2 July 1991]: River purification boards and islands councils have powers to provide and operate flood warning systems for their areas under the Agriculture Act 1970 as amended by the Local Government and Planning (Scotland) Act 1982. However, there is no statutory requirement to provide advance warning of flooding. At present, flood warning systems, which depend on information from critical parts of the catchment, are in operation for several major rivers in Scotland. There are none specifically for coastal flooding.
The capital cost of providing flood warning systems is included in the capital expenditure allocations made to river purification boards and islands authorities. Operating costs are part of their normal revenue expenditure.