PITT REPORT STRESSES NEED FOR DRAINAGE ACTION, BUT WHERE IS MONEY COMING FROM? - LIZ LYNNE
December 17, 2007 12:00 AM
Local LibDem MEP Liz Lynne has welcomed Sir Michael Pitt's interim report into last summer's floods but has urged him to be clearer on extra funding responsibilities and on exactly who should take the lead in improving flood defences and drainage.
The floods last June and July caused severe damage across Yorkshire and Western England, including Liz Lynne's West Midlands region constituency.
Liz Lynne said:
"I do welcome this interim report and especially the comment that we need to give defence against climate change a similar priority as fighting terrorism. But unfortunately the interim report does leave some big holes: he talks about giving the Environment Agency the lead role, but also increased responsibilities for local councils. There is a potential for muddle here, my starting position would be that local authorities are closest to the communities we need to protect and should be given the core responsibility.
"As with the recent Environment Agency review, the biggest unresolved question is money - who is going to pay for these recommendations to be carried out? Whoever has overall responsibility, local authorities would have to carry out much of the work involved on the ground.
"Either central government needs to guarantee additional ringfenced revenue support grant or Council Tax will have to rise dramatically in areas which need the most work done. Not enough money was spent on flood defences before the summer so it is not a subject to be avoided now.
"I also welcome indications of practical action on drainage. I called for an urgent review of drainage maintenance policies in July. Regular, not ad hoc, drain cleaning and clearing schedules need to be reinstated by many local authorities with highway responsibility; this would prevent many of the flash floods which occurred because of blockages, as we saw in my regional constituency.
"Comprehensive water and drainage mapping is also desperately needed, and I would also ask for a review of agricultural practice near key watercourses. We need to look at the run-off problems of rye grass and the potential for 'wet washlands' to increase the natural absorption of heavy rainfall by the environment.
"I look forward to the full report and hope that the government will start acting on the more urgent issues very quickly. It is a scandal that we were so unprepared in July and we must ensure that we get it right in the future."
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
Liz Lynne has campaigned for action and funding from the EU and UK government since the devastating summer floods, speaking and asking questions in the European Parliament and corresponding with the UK ministers.
Liz Lynne has repeatedly called for the streamlining of the rules and application process for the EU Solidarity Fund, to make sure aid reaches where it is needed more quickly, in the light of the UK and Eastern European floods, and the Greek forest fires.
The UK is due to receive £100m in funding from the EU Solidarity Fund to cover some of the emergency costs of the flooding, though ministers have not yet confirmed how much of this aid will be clawed back by central government and how much will be passed on to Councils, agencies and infrastructure operators in the areas where the floods occurred.
Liz was herself for a time marooned in her Worcestershire home while her village was flooded.
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