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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 18 March 2014, Official Report, columns 527-8W, on the Bellwin scheme, how much has been (a) allocated to and (b) received by each of the authorities which have registered for funding under the Bellwin scheme.

Brandon Lewis

Bellwin provides emergency financial assistance to local authorities to help them meet uninsurable costs they incur when responding to a major emergency in their area. The level of funding over time is causally linked to the scale of flooding or other emergency. As was the case under previous and current Administrations, it operates by local authorities retrospectively claiming spending back.

As at 9 June, 110 local authorities have registered for the December 2013 to February 2014 severe weather events. They now have until 30 June 2014 to submit their formal claims. However, only 20 local authorities have submitted formal claims so far.

A table deposited in the Library lists the reimbursement payments that have been made to date. In the remaining cases, the claims have literally just been received or we are waiting for the local authorities to provide supporting information. All valid claims will be paid quickly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much of the Government’s Business Rates Relief Fund for flooded businesses has been (a) allocated to local authorities and (b) received by businesses to date.

Brandon Lewis

As at 2 June 2014, 979 businesses were in receipt of a business rates relief from their local authority as a result of the impact of flooding. There are no set or advance allocations to councils. The fund works by councils retrospectively claiming back the cost of the business rate relief (in the same way, for example, as the Bellwin Scheme has always worked). 66 local authorities recently submitted claims for reimbursement; the deadline for applications was 26 May. Subject to data checking, we expect reimbursement payments in the region of £4 million to be made shortly.

Further information on the available flood support schemes is available on the gov.uk website at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/flood-support-package-for-homeowners-and-businesses

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much of the Government’s Council Tax Relief Fund for people whose homes have been flooded has been (a) allocated to local authorities and (b) received by residents to date.

Brandon Lewis

As at 2 June 2014, 4,031 households were in receipt of a council tax discount from their local authority as a result of the impact of flooding. There are no set or advance allocations to councils. The fund works by councils retrospectively claiming back the cost of the council tax relief (in the same way, for example, as the Bellwin Scheme has always worked). Local authorities recently submitted the first round of claims for reimbursement. Subject to data checking, we expect reimbursement payments in the region of £1.8 million to be made shortly.

Further information on the available flood support schemes is available on the gov.uk website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/flood-support-package-for-homeowners-and-businesses

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much of the Tourism Industry Fund for businesses in flood-affected parts of England has been (a) allocated to local authorities and (b) received by businesses to date.

Mrs Helen Grant

The Government’s tourism package on flood support was not grant based but, alongside a marketing programme, was funded business support offered via local workshops and drop in clinics to tourism and tourism related businesses. These sessions were organised locally by Destination Organisations on behalf of VisitEngland. They were accessed by over 700 businesses. Money was only allocated to local authorities where they were the accountable body for the Destination Organisations. This totalled £83,798 but not all Destination Organisations have local authorities as their accountable body.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much of the Flood Relief Fund for Sport announced to restore damaged pitches, sport centres and facilities has been (a) allocated to local authorities and (b) received by sports facilities to date.

Mrs Helen Grant

Sport England’s Flood Relief Fund has made a total of 225 awards to date, totalling £515,542, of which:

(a) Three awards totalling £6,560 have been made to Local Authorities.

(b) 222 awards totalling £508,982 have been made to sports clubs.

The fund will remain open for applications until Autumn.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much of the Severe Weather Recovery Scheme awarded to local authorities for costs incurred during the recent floods has been (a) allocated to and (b) received by local authorities to date.

Brandon Lewis

£73.5 million has been allocated to, and received by, local authorities for costs incurred during the recent floods under the first phase of the Severe Weather Recovery Scheme. The closing date for the second tranche of the funding was 6 June.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what meetings his Department had with the National Farmers’ Union in the six months before the start of the pilot badger culls in Gloucestershire and Somerset in 2013; and whether he advised that union to operate a media blackout during the first phase of the culls.

George Eustice

Meetings were held with the National Farmers Union in the six months prior to the start of the pilot culls in 2013.

There was no media blackout during the pilots. Defra and the National Farmers Union continued to make spokespeople available to talk to the media throughout the period in which culling was taking place.

However, both the National Farmers Union and Defra were always clear that operational information that could compromise the effectiveness of the cull or the safety of those involved would not be disclosed during the operation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much of the Flood Defence Repair Fund paid to the Environment Agency has been (a) allocated to the Environment Agency and (b) spent by the Environment Agency to repair flood defences to date.

Dan Rogerson

Defra has made available to the Environment Agency an additional £30 million in 2013/14 and up to £135 million in 2014/15, to respond to the winter floods and repair flood and coastal defences. The Environment Agency spent £31.2 million on repairs and emergency response between January and March 2014. This includes £26 million on asset repair costs, £1.5 million of which was paid to local authorities. The remaining £5.2 million was spent on other associated costs, such as incident management and emergency response. These are the latest figures available.