§ Mr. MossTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what impact she anticipates(a) flood clean-up expenditure and (b) flood prevention expenditure will have on the level of council tax in English local authorities in the next financial year; and if she will make a statement. [19750]
§ Mr. MorleyThrough the Bellwin arrangements, Government expect to contribute some £26 million to the costs incurred by local authorities affected by flooding in 2000. Standard Spending Assessments (SSAs) for flood defence for English local authorities were announced on 4 December. Government provide grant which covers some three quarters of SSA with the remainder assumed to be raised from the standard level of council tax.
401WThe Government's expenditure under Beliwin, coupled with their meeting a major proportion of the SSA, will substantially mitigate the effect on council tax bills arising from flooding, though the actual effect will depend on each local authority's spending decisions across all its functions.
§ Mr. SayeedTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much new public money(a) has been spent in 2001 and (b) will be spent in 2002 on improving flood defences in (i) Bewdley, (ii) Hertfordshire, (iii) Shrewsbury, (iv) Malton, Yorkshire,(v) Norton, Yorkshire and (vi) East Anglia. [19540]
§ Mr. MorleyThis Department provides grants for flood and coastal defence capital works, and associated studies, which meet essential technical, economic and environmental criteria and achieve an appropriate priority score. Further to increases in spending plans in the last two spending reviews, additional funding of £51 million over the four years from 2000–01 was announced in November 2000 following the severe flooding last year. An increased priority was given to urban flood defence and the grant rates for all river flood defences was increased by 20 per cent.
Operational responsibility for flood management measures rests with the local operating authorities, normally the Environment Agency, internal drainage boards and local councils, who decide which projects to promote and their timing. The operational authorities are invited to submit applications for DEFRA funding, and we do not differentiate between "old" and "new" money. The information given relates to flood defence improvement works to be undertaken by the Environment Agency (information on the same basis, from internal drainage boards and local councils, is not readily available).
£000 Bewdley Spent in 2001–02 750 Planned expenditure in 2002–03 2,500 Hertfordshire Spent in 2001–02 480 Planned expenditure in 2002–03 3,230 Shrewsbury Spent in 2001–02 750 Planned expenditure in 2002–03 2,500 Malton/Norton Spent in 2001–02 800 Planned expenditure in 2002–03 5,000 East Anglia Spent in 2001–02 24,600 Planned expenditure in 2002–03 28,800