Brussels fund may provide UK flood damage help
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Britain could receive up to £125m in emergency European Union funding to help foot the bill for damages from last month’s floods.
It is the first time the UK has applied for the funding that is available from the EU to tackle “major disasters” causing direct damage of at least £2bn. The US benefited from the fund in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Between 2002 and 2005, member states have received between 2.5 per cent and 5 per cent of the total damage suffered from the EU’s Solidarity Fund. If the UK’s total damage is £2.5bn, Britain might expect to receive between £62.5m and £125m.
“We are still assessing the extent of the damage caused in both the June and July floods. We are making the application now to ensure we would get any money as soon as possible,” the Department for Communities and Local Government said.
For the application to be successful, the technical criteria set out by the EU state that the total amount of damage caused by a natural disaster has to exceed £2.2bn. The European Commission does not provide full funding for the cost of the damage, only a proportion of the costs.
John Healey, communities minister, said: “The final decision will rest with the Commission – but we will make the strongest possible case. As part of this, we [continue] to carry out assessments of costs with those areas affected by the June floods and stand ready to do the same with areas hit by the more recent floods.
“Clearly those areas that are currently flooded need time to deal with more immediate practical concerns before reviewing the scale and cost of overall damage.
“The top priority has been [to safeguard] life and property ... some areas are only now starting to move into the recovery phase. We are committed to doing everything we can to help life return to normal as quickly as possible in local communities ... [This] application can play a part ...
“A successful EU application would be a useful addition to the package of support we’re already putting in place – this European bid is, however, only one part of our efforts to support flood-hit communities.”
But Peter Ainsworth, shadow environment secretary, said it was “a shame” the government had taken “so long to do this”.
“People have been suffering the aftermaths of this summer’s floods for well over a month now and we asked for the government to apply to the fund at the beginning of July. If the government had taken note the money might now be filtering through to people who need it most.”
If Brussels were to approve the handout, the money from the EU Solidarity Fund – which must be applied for within 10 weeks of a disaster – would help to meet the costs of cleaning up after the floods, housing evacuees and replacing damaged infrastructure.
The Financial Times Limited 2007
It is the first time the UK has applied for the funding that is available from the EU to tackle “major disasters” causing direct damage of at least £2bn. The US benefited from the fund in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Between 2002 and 2005, member states have received between 2.5 per cent and 5 per cent of the total damage suffered from the EU’s Solidarity Fund. If the UK’s total damage is £2.5bn, Britain might expect to receive between £62.5m and £125m.
“We are still assessing the extent of the damage caused in both the June and July floods. We are making the application now to ensure we would get any money as soon as possible,” the Department for Communities and Local Government said.
For the application to be successful, the technical criteria set out by the EU state that the total amount of damage caused by a natural disaster has to exceed £2.2bn. The European Commission does not provide full funding for the cost of the damage, only a proportion of the costs.
John Healey, communities minister, said: “The final decision will rest with the Commission – but we will make the strongest possible case. As part of this, we [continue] to carry out assessments of costs with those areas affected by the June floods and stand ready to do the same with areas hit by the more recent floods.
“Clearly those areas that are currently flooded need time to deal with more immediate practical concerns before reviewing the scale and cost of overall damage.
“The top priority has been [to safeguard] life and property ... some areas are only now starting to move into the recovery phase. We are committed to doing everything we can to help life return to normal as quickly as possible in local communities ... [This] application can play a part ...
“A successful EU application would be a useful addition to the package of support we’re already putting in place – this European bid is, however, only one part of our efforts to support flood-hit communities.”
But Peter Ainsworth, shadow environment secretary, said it was “a shame” the government had taken “so long to do this”.
“People have been suffering the aftermaths of this summer’s floods for well over a month now and we asked for the government to apply to the fund at the beginning of July. If the government had taken note the money might now be filtering through to people who need it most.”
If Brussels were to approve the handout, the money from the EU Solidarity Fund – which must be applied for within 10 weeks of a disaster – would help to meet the costs of cleaning up after the floods, housing evacuees and replacing damaged infrastructure.
The Financial Times Limited 2007
