The Government’s failure to devise a fair funding system for flood defences means wider service cuts for at-risk communities, council bosses have warned.
The District Councils’ Network (DCN) has called for a new system for funding internal drainage boards (IDBs), the bodies that oversee flood alleviation in the lowest-lying land areas.
The network said the boards’ costs had risen by an average of 28% over two years, due to higher energy prices, more extreme wet weather and wage increases.
Under the current system, district or unitary councils collect levies for IDBs, but caps mean they cannot increase council tax in line with boards’ rising costs.
DCN chairman Sam Chapman-Allen said: ‘Internal drainage authorities have little option but to pass their higher costs onto councils – and in response councils have no choice but to further cut back on the local services which are vital for supporting local communities and growing local economies.’
The chief executive of the Association of Drainage Authorities, Innes Thomson, said: ‘The current special levy payments process, which has worked well in the past, is now clearly not working, with local councils bearing the consequences when they can least afford to.’
Solutions proposed by the DCN include the Government funding the full costs of IDBs to councils; removing the council tax cap; and legislating to remove IDB levies from the council tax requirement.
