South Holland District Council welcomes Government promise of money to help with drainage board costs
Council leaders have welcomed news of a £3million Government package to help with drainage board costs – but is not clear how much South Holland will get.
South Holland District Council and a number of other authorities have been lobbying the Government to find a long-term solution to cover the costs of the important work undertaken by the area’s drainage boards.
Yesterday (Wednesday), Levelling Up Minister Michael Gove announced £3million to support councils ‘experiencing the biggest pressures’ – but there has been no further detail on what will be coming South Holland’s way.
Earlier this month the district council’s cabinet agreed to increase its share of the council tax bill by 3.09% – but leader Coun Nick Worth has warned that that the £268,000 extra income that this brings will be ‘wiped out’ by the costs of the internal drainage boards. This leaves the council with a challenge of how to fund its services.
The council’s portfolio holder Coun Paul Redgate, chairman of the Local Government Association Special Interest Group (SIG), welcomed the news.
He said: “The SIG councils are grateful to the Secretary of State for listening and recognising the serious impact the Internal Drainage Board (IDBs) levies are having on our councils. We welcome the commitment to address this long-standing issue and we look forward to progressing conversations further with Government.
“As a group of 29 councils all affected in some way by IDB levies, we have been working in partnership to collectively lobby the Government for a fairer and more sustainable way to fund the important work of Internal Drainage Boards without impacting on the council’s ability to afford services. We will continue our effort until a formal agreed, long-term resolution is secured.
“There is no doubt the operations of IDBs are vital for our communities in reducing flood risk and maintaining water levels to reduce the impact of flooding. The IDB levy imposed by the Government - has reached unprecedented levels, leaving these councils in a precarious and unfair position with no choice but to put council tax up and consider cuts to services to fund these increases.”
“The cost is one that SIG councils simply can no longer afford.
“The SIG is also grateful to the Government for awarding an additional £3m funding this year to the councils most impacted by the levies. We await confirmation of the funding allocations.”
South Holland MP Sir John Hayes is to be hosting an event to lobby the Department for the Environment, Agriculture and Rural Affairs with former Prime Minister and DEFRA secretary Liz Truss.
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In response to a written question, minister Mr Gove said: “Last year we provided one-off funding to local authorities struggling with Internal Drainage Board levies. We have listened to authorities who continue to face sustained increases in these levies.
“We will again provide £3 million outside of the Settlement to support those experiencing the biggest pressures. We will work with the sector and the Department for the Environment, Agriculture and Rural Affairs to implement a long-term solution.”
Heavy rain brought by Storms Babet and Henk has resulted in more water – some of which has travelled down from other areas – for our drainage boards to pump away to prevent flat South Holland from flooding.
But with this extra work comes rising power costs – which are currently funded by people in South Holland with a levy on their bills. For every £10 of council tax, the council receives 96p for services – and 53p of that goes to the drainage boards.
A report to a recent cabinet meeting stated that the ‘levy can no longer be afforded having a significant impact, every year that passes, on the ability of the council to finance the services it is providing’.