FLOOD DEFENCE CUTS
Despite an increased risk of flooding, the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs wants to cut the flood defence budget.
A leaked email from Defra, unveiled by the Liberal Democrats in August, revealed that they plan to axe another £15 million from flood defence management from this year’s budget.
These cuts are, in a large part, due to the Government's massive overspend on the botched introduction of single farm payments, which was a bureaucatic shambles on an almost unprecedented scale.
Despite calls by the Liberal Democrats for the Government to use their contigency funds to cover this overspend, Defra have insisted on forging ahead with alarming cuts to its core priorities, including flood defences.
LIBERAL DEMOCRAT CAMPAIGN
On 13 November 2006, the Liberal Democrat launched a campaign against Defra’s irrational and irresponsible flood defence cuts and urging the Government to reverse them.
Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Chris Huhne MP said:
"At the same time that the Prime Minister says that global warming is the key threat to our civilisation, his Environment Secretary David Miliband is cutting the flood defences that can protect us against some of its consequences."
"These latest cuts mean that maintenance on flood defences will be cut back year after year, weakening their structure. This is an incredibly foolish false economy when we know that storms are becoming more extreme and flood risk is increasing due to global warming."
"Apart from maintenance, the flood awareness service that prepares those at risk will also be cut back."
INCREASED RISK OF FLOODING
The cuts are planned despite the increasing threat of extreme storms and flooding due to global warming; 5 million people, 2.3 million homes and 185,000 businesses are at risk of flooding in England and Wales, representing property, land and assets to the value of £200 billion.
The devastating floods of 2000 caused damage to 10,000 properties and the total financial cost was over £1.3 billion.
The Foresight Future Flooding report, published in April 2004, made it clear that if our flood defence infrastructure did not improve, the annual damage from flooding measured in economic terms alone could increase from the current £1 billion a year to between £1.5 billion and £21 billion by the 2080s.
HOW TO SAY NO TO FLOOD DEFENCE CUTS
If you’re worried about the effect these cuts could have on flood defences in your local area then support our ‘flood defence cuts are nuts’ campaign by signing our petition below.
