Lord Greaves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-01-14.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effects of the current funding levels of (1) the Environment Agency, (2) lead drainage authorities, and (3) district councils, on (a) small scale flood alleviation schemes, (b) preventive and regular maintenance of drainage systems, and (c) the ability of these bodies to respond to emergencies.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Government confirmed in the Spending Review that the Environment Agency’s maintenance budget would be protected, in real terms, over the life of this Parliament.
Under the Land Drainage Act, internal drainage boards assess how much funding they need in order to carry out works and then charge this to rate and levy payers accordingly. Internal drainage boards receive funding from agricultural rate payers in their drainage district and from district and unitary authorities via a special levy which they place on those bodies.
The Government provides funding to lead local flood authorities to carry out their duties under the Flood and Water Management Act but local authorities decide what to spend on drainage and flood prevention according to local priorities. As part of a consultation on the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2016-17, the Government has proposed protecting this funding in real terms over the life of this Parliament.
