Stuart Anderson said: "We are acting to drive down flood risk from every angle. Our ambition is to create a nation more resilient to future flood and coastal erosion risk. The Government is doubling investment to £5.6 billion between 2021 and 2027 to better protect communities across England, including 336,000 properties and over 900,000 acres of farmland, from flooding and coastal erosion. Since 2010, investment has meant that more than 600,000 properties have been better protected. While this is a significant achievement, I certainly recognise that there are homes and businesses that still suffer from flooding. Here, you will find support available. If you need any specific assistance, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me directly."
Flood Recovery Framework:
The Flood Recovery Framework provides support for flooded businesses and households. This includes:
- Community Recovery Grant: A grant in the region of £500 (indicative) per eligible household, will be paid to the local authority to provide quick support to communities who have been badly affected by the relevant severe weather event to support local recovery efforts.
- Business Recovery Grant: Up to £2,500 per eligible small and medium-sized enterprise (SME), which has suffered severe impacts from flooding that cannot be recovered from insurance.
- Council Tax Discount: 100% discount for a minimum of 3 months, or while any household is unable to return to their primary residence, including a 100% discount on temporary accommodation for any household unable to return to their home.
- Business Rate Relief: The Government will reimburse eligible authorities for the cost of providing businesses 100% relief from business rates for a minimum of three months if flood water entered the property, or the flooding seriously impacted upon the businesses’ ability to trade from the property.
These schemes are run by the relevant Local Authorities and any decisions on appeals should be directed to them to review.
Property Flood Resilience Repair Grant:
The Property Flood Resilience (PFR) repair grant scheme operates as an add on to the core Government Flood Recovery Framework. It may be activated following severe weather events that impact multiple local authorities (LAs). Eligible flood-hit property owners can apply for up to £5,000 to help make their homes and businesses more resilient to future flooding if they have been directly flooded by a specific weather event. This is to install measures that make properties more resilient to future flooding where there is internal flooding to homes or business premises including actions that keep water out, such as flood doors and barriers, and internal changes to lessen the impact of flooding, such as hard floors and raising electrics.
Bellwin Scheme:
Separate emergency response support is available through the existing Bellwin mechanism, which is administered centrally by the government. Local authorities can make an application for emergency financial assistance to cover uninsurable immediate costs they incur protecting life and property or preventing suffering or severe inconvenience as a result of a disaster or emergency in their area.
Farming Recovery Fund:
The Farming Recovery Fund has been opened to provide farmers support to recover from uninsurable damage with grants of between £500 and £25,000 to return their land to the condition it was before exceptional flooding of Storm Henk. The fund was initially opened in nine English local authority areas where the Flood Recovery Framework has been activated to help farms which have experienced the highest levels of flooding. Eligibility for the Fund is actively under review. Farmers will receive payments for all land parcels which are flooded contiguous to a river with notably high river level gauge readings following Storm Henk during 2 to 12 January 2024. The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will determine those farm businesses who are eligible and the amount of funding they could claim. If there are questions, then the farmer should write to the RPA. If you’re not in the areas listed as eligible, you can still get advice on Natural Flood Management (NFM) through your local Catchment Sensitive Farming adviser. This year, we’re updating existing actions and introducing new actions to the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and Countryside Stewardship to support NFM, flood mitigation and increase flood resilience. Find other support for farmers here.
Water Restoration Grant:
Groups of farmers in England can now apply for a grant to improve freshwater habitats. Local groups can apply for funding to bolster their capacity and capabilities for delivery of on-the-ground projects which improve the water environment. The fund, announced in Defra’s Plan for Water, is funded through environmental fines and penalties issued to water companies between April 2022 and October 2023. The £11 million is made up of water company fines.
Local Resource Option (Deadline: 16 June 2024):
From 22nd April 2024, small groups of farmers in England can apply for a Local Resource Option (LRO) screening study. An LRO is a water resources scheme that improves the resilience or supply of water in a local area. LRO screening studies are one way farmers and growers can better understand their options to improve the supply or resilience of water. They complement other actions that support water quality and resilience offered through the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). The £1.6 million Fund will be used by farmers to investigate different methods to manage water in their area. Projects could include multi-farm reservoirs, treated waste-water recycling systems, water trading and sharing schemes. The fund will support around 20 studies and will also investigate water demand and availability in the most water-stressed agricultural areas over the next 25-year period. It delivers on the Prime Minister’s commitment at the Farm to Fork Summit to support farmers to identify local water resource schemes which will help to build resilience into the water supply, support food production, and safeguard food security.
