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- Healey - sixty two authorities to receive £31m flood funding
Healey - sixty two authorities to receive £31m flood funding
| Published | 17 July 2008 |
|---|
Government support for flood-hit communities reaches £133 million
Floods Recovery Minister John Healey today announced that 62 local authorities would receive a share of almost £31million to support their continued efforts to rebuild their communities following last summer's floods.
The money comes from the Government's special Restoration Fund. Ministers have pledged that there will be no strings attached, so local authorities will be able to spend this money as they decide according to local priorities.
This money is on top of over £100million provided by Government to date - a significant contribution to local recovery efforts. This sum includes a further £17million also announced today by Transport Minister Rosie Winterton to repair roads and bridges damaged by the floods.
Allocations from the Restoration Fund include:
- £7.5m to Hull bringing their total support to date to around £15.5m
- £4.1m to authorities in Gloucestershire bringing their total support to date to almost £29m
- £7m to authorities in South Yorkshire bringing their total support to date to £28.5m
- £4m to East Riding bringing their total support to date to £15.2m
While on a return visit to Tewkesbury to meet residents affected by the floods and council chiefs to discuss progress in getting the town back to normal John Healey said:
"One year on from last summer's floods I have been impressed by people's resilience and how communities have pulled together to get back on their feet.
"The floods hit large parts of the country causing devastation and misery for thousands of people. Over the year my priority has been to ensure these areas got co-ordinated and continuing support from government. So far we've made available over £100million to assist the affected regions recover and help those in greatest need.
"Today I am able to announce that 62 local authorities will receive a share of a further £31million to support their continued efforts to rebuild their communities. They will be free to spend this as they see fit, depending on local priorities. Today's announcement of £17million more to repair roads and bridges will be a welcome double cash boost for some areas.
"It is a long established principle that authorities put aside resources and get insurance to cover unforeseen events such as floods. But given the scale of last summer's flooding it was right that Government has stepped in to help to the tune of £133million. This is a fair contribution to the cost of local recovery efforts. Last year the independent Audit Commission looked at the financial impact of the floods and concluded that all affected local authorities in its study would be able manage the financial impacts of the flooding. All have set council tax levels within the Government's guidelines.
"While a huge amount has been achieved over the last year I know more remains to be done. That is why I will work with councils and insurers to see every effort made to get everyone back home and communities back to normal."
Earlier this week John Healey announced that the number of flood-hit families still out of their homes has fallen by a quarter in the last month and the number living in caravans has halved. This big drop means around 3,400 households are either living in temporary accommodation, in caravans or the top floor of their homes - down from 5,659 at the end of April and 4,716 at the end of May.
Notes to editors
1. Today's Restoration Fund allocations are set out in the table below along with total funding to date for each local authority.
2. The Department for Transport has been working closely with local authorities in relation to the damage caused by the summer floods. Today's announcement follows an assessment of claims submitted by authorities and the funding is additional to the £23m announced in March. The funding announced so far covers the estimate of costs identified by authorities. The Department continues to be committed to helping authorities, who will be able to make further claims when their full actual costs are known. The amount each area is receiving today are as follows:
- Gloucestershire County Council - £6.500m
- Shropshire County Council - £1.019m
- West Berkshire Council - £0.144m
- Sheffield City Council - £0.400m
- East Riding of Yorkshire Council - £5.042m
- Barnsley Met Borough Council - £1.315m
- Rotherham Met Borough Council - £0.173m
- Worcestershire County Council - £2.311m
3. Displaced housing figures published 16 July can be accessed at: www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/895088.
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