Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support his Department is providing for those affected by flooding.

On Saturday 6^th January the Government announced a significant package of support that will be available to areas in England that have experienced exceptional localised flooding as a result of Storm Henk (2^nd – 12^th Jan).

DLUHC has activated the Flood Recovery Framework and its package of support measures include;

• Community Recovery Grant: Eligible Local Authorities will receive funding equivalent to £500 per flooded household to support local recovery efforts.
• Business Recovery Grant: DBT may provide eligible Local Authorities up to £2,500 per eligible small and medium-sized enterprise (SME), which has suffered severe impacts from flooding that cannot be recovered from insurance.
• Council Tax Discount: The Government will reimburse eligible Local Authorities for the cost of a 100% council tax discount for a minimum of three months.

Following approval from Defra’s Secretary of State, Defra also activated the PFR Grant scheme and the Farming Recovery Fund.

The PFR Scheme is a package of funding for property owners directly flooded by a specific weather event that grants them up to £5,000 per property to install PFR measures. The Farming Recovery Fund pays out to farmers with uninsurable damage for grants of up to £25,000 for repair and reinstatement costs.

All schemes, with the exception of the Farming Recovery Fund, will be administered through local authorities, who will confirm application process to eligible households and businesses in the coming weeks.

The Farming Recovery Fund is administered by the Rural Payments Agency and not Local Authorities. Defra will confirm detailed eligibility for the Farming Recovery Fund over the coming weeks.