Rutland and Melton's MP has asked the Prime Minister to consider major issues with flood funding criteria after Rutland misses out on flood support from central Government.

Details of a national flood relief scheme for areas affected by Storm Henk were announced by the UK Government on 6 January. To be eligible for national funding, local areas needed to have more than 50 homes flooded internally as a direct result of the storm.

Rutland did not meet the threshold set by Government, so no nationally funded support payments can be made to Rutland residents. 

The financial support announced by the Government is available only to eligible areas in England that have experienced exceptional localised flooding. Help will be available for "flooded households in eligible affected areas, who can apply for up to £500 cash to help with immediate costs."

As such, yesterday (7 February), Alicia Kearns MP raised the most recent and devastating flooding experienced recently across Rutland.

She asked Prime Minister Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP for him to ensure that he and Ministerial Colleagues met with Alicia to discuss the current flooding formula, as the threshold means Rutland will never have access to flooding funding

In the meantime, Rutland County Council has launched a local flood relief scheme that offers financial assistance to households affected by storms Babet and Henk.

However, this comes out of local funds and is unsupported by the Government scheme being rolled out across the country, and means that residents may not see the same benefit as residents in other parts of the country.

Flooding impacted Rutland in late 2023 and January 2024. Image credit: Nub News.

The Council's scheme offers a 100% Council Tax discount for up to three months for any families forced to leave their home because flooding from the storms made the property unliveable. The property affected must be the family's main place of residence and applications for funding must be made by 15 March 2024. 

Councillor Andrew Johnson, Deputy Leader of Rutland County Council and Cabinet Member for Finance, said: "Storms Babet and Henk caused damage and disruption to large parts of the UK, leaving lots of people in need of help due to flooding. The Government's threshold for national flood relief dealt Rutland a particularly poor hand. We can't access the funding that's available to many other areas, including our nearest neighbours in Leicestershire, because of an arbitrary requirement to have at least 50 homes affected.

"This is clearly wrong. National relief schemes for severe weather incidents should treat all areas equally and fairly. To make sure Rutland residents are not disadvantaged by this, we've introduced our own locally funded relief scheme for anyone forced to leave their home due to the recent storm flooding. We hope this will help families who are still getting back on their feet." 

Multiple homes and businesses suffered damage in the Rutland floods. Image credit: Nub News.

Households already known to have been affected by Storm Henk flooding are being contacted directly by Rutland County Council, so they can submit information and evidence to apply for a Council Tax discount. 

Eligible properties must have been flooded internally between 16 and 26 October 2023 because of Storm Babet, or between 2 and 12 January 2024 because of Storm Henk, with flood water making the property unliveable for more than 48 hours. Second homes, empty homes and holiday lets are not eligible under the scheme. Business premises, flooded gardens, outbuildings and garages are also ineligible.

Anyone not already in touch with the Council about flooding inside their property should email [email protected] or call 01572 722 577 to apply for this Council Tax discount. Further information can also be found on the Council's website.

Find out about the Council's recent meeting about flood disruption here.