Scottish Government
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Flooding issues report

Action must be taken to ensure Scotland is better prepared for flooding, according to a report published today.

The Flooding Issues Advisory Committee (FIAC) is calling for key organisations to work together to take a more strategic approach to tackling flood risk management and to ensure communities are adequately protected from flooding.

Minister for Environment Michael Russell said:

"I would like to thank the members of FIAC and its sub-committees for their work in producing this report. FIAC was an excellent example of stakeholders working together to reach consensus on difficult issues such as tackling flooding.

"Scotland cannot ignore the threat which climate change brings in increasing the occurrence of wet, stormy weather and we must act now to protect ourselves from that threat. The Scottish Government is committed to tackling this growing danger.

"The flooding summit held in Perth last week demonstrated unanimous support for a fresh approach to flood management. Key to this is de-cluttering the process and establishing a framework to enable all organisations to work together effectively to deliver flood risk management for the 21st century.

"Some of the suggestions in the FIAC report, such as developing a more sustainable approach to flood management, have already been adopted by the Scottish Government whilst other recommendations will require further discussion.

"One of the recommendations of the FIAC sub-committee on flood allevation was to streamline flood protection and planning processes and replace the 1961 Act. We will be introducing a new Flooding Bill to address the inadequacies of current legislation and allow a more sustainable approach to flood risk management.

"I will consider the report's findings along with Ministerial colleagues during the course of today's Parliamentary debate and in developing a new Flooding Bill for Scotland."

The report calls for stakeholders to work together to ensure that a more strategic, catchment level approach is taken when considering flood alleviation options.

It also made a number of specific recommendations including:

  • Setting up a forum in Scotland to help people and communities become more proactive through better awareness of flood risk and preparedness for flooding
  • The Scottish Government should pursue the possibility of an individual property grant scheme in Scotland
  • Further detailed work to link catchment strategic planning and the River Basin Management Planning process should be carried out and the outcomes addressed in a public consultation on new flooding legislation
  • Reducing the risk of flood damage should be an objective of rural policy in Scotland and the Scottish Government should seek to promote rural land use solutions as part of its strategy for flood risk management
  • A forum, similar to FIAC, should be set up to continue to advise the Scottish Government on flooding matters

Related Information

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Environment/Water/Flooding/advisory-groups/fiac/Papers

 

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