| UK gets streamlined system for better flood defence The UK Environment Agency will be given more responsibility and up-front block funding to improve flood and coastal defence work under plans announced by Defra minister Elliot Morley. Making the announcement in the House of Commons, Elliot Morley, minister for Fisheries, Water and Nature Protection, said the changes were necessary to help deliver a more consistent and effective service and underlined the government's continuing commitment to flood and coastal defence. The main changes to the funding system, the result of the government's ‘Flood and coastal defence funding review’, are: * A single annual government block grant to be paid to the Environment Agency by Defra for its capital and revenue work to provide greater certainty of funding than the present arrangements. * The Environment Agency will have responsibility for all rivers creating greatest flood risk. This means transferring responsibility for ordinary watercourses at high risk of flooding from local authorities and internal drainage boards (IDBs) to the Environment Agency. The Environment Agency will have the option of contracting day-to-day work back to these bodies where they are willing and have a good track record. * Creating a single tier of regional flood defence committees by winding up local flood defence committees where they exist. In some large regions, there may be a need to split the region and create additional committees to ensure local accountability. But it will still be a single tier system. * Streamlining present approval processes for flood defence schemes, initially for the Environment Agency. Defra engineers will consider schemes at an earlier and more strategic level.
•Date:
12th March 2003 •Region: UK •Type:
Article •Topic: Emergency
planning |
