Chancellor, George Osborne, has announced £140m of new funding to repair and maintain flood defences in his 2014 Budget.
Mr Osborne also promised a £200m fund for councils to help repair potholes caused by recent flooding.
He said: ‘Because of the exceptionally poor weather this winter, I am making an additional £140m available, on top of that already provided, for immediate repairs and maintenance to damaged flood defences across Britain.’
The extreme weather has caused an estimated £1bn worth of damage to homes, infrastructure and businesses, and the Government has been criticised for previously cutting money from flood defences.
The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) said the Environment Agency’s maintenance budget was set to fall by 39% by 2015, and urged the Government to return capital and maintenance investment in pre-flood management to pre-2010 levels.
The funding is in addition to the £140m already announced for emergency repairs by prime minister, David Cameron, who famously said ‘money is no object’ when it comes to helping those affected by flooding.
