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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of the total spending allocation her Department has made to supporting communities affected by recent floods has been spent to date.

Defra is administering a Farming Recovery Fund to support farmers affected by the flooding. Further support to communities is available through the Communities and Business Recovery Scheme provided by the Department for Communities and Local Government. Farmers affected by flooding will be able to claim grants of between £500 and £20,000 to cover the cost of restoring their farmland. The RPA will pay out on all eligible claims. The deadline for Fund applications is 1 April 2016.