Local government

The Bellwin scheme

The Bellwin scheme of emergency financial assistance to local authorities is named after the late Lord Bellwin, a minister in the former Department of the Environment who introduced the scheme in 1983. It was given a statutory basis in Section 155 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.

A Bellwin scheme may be activated in any case where an emergency or disaster involving destruction of or danger to life or property occurs and, as a result, one or more local authorities incur expenditure on, or in connection with, the taking of immediate action to safeguard life or property, or to prevent suffering or severe inconvenience, in their area or among its inhabitants. There is no automatic entitlement to financial assistance: Ministers are empowered by Section 155 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 to decide whether or not to activate a scheme after considering the circumstances of each individual case.

The annual Bellwin Scheme guidance notes and threshold information provided below set out the terms under which Communities and Local Government is prepared to make emergency financial assistance available to local authorities (as defined in section 155(4) of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989) in England.

In this section

Archived content

Get info4local's email

Stay abreast of the latest news and information from across government with info4local's one-stop, free service.

Have your say

My favourites