Chancellor George Osborne announced in the 2016 budget yesterday extra funding to improve the country’s flood defences, to the tune of £700m. The funding will be generated from a rise in insurance premium tax.
Osborne announced he is increasing the standard rate of IPT by half a percentage point to 10%, using the proceeds of this increase to bring forward over 1,000 flood defence schemes in the worst hit areas across the north of England and Scotland, including investing over £150m in Leeds, York, Calder Valley, Carlisle and wider Cumbria.
It is expected that the funding in these areas alone will help to protect approximately 7,400 properties.
The government will also invest up to £25m in flood defences in Carlisle once the Environment Agency has concluded a review of its needs, and will also provide funding to support the delivery of the final stages of the Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme, subject to business case approval.
