COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL
GOVERNMENT News Release (145) issued by The Government News Network
on 1 August 2007
Flood Recovery
Minister John Healey today announced the Government's
intention to lodge an application to the European Commission for
support from the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) to help
recovery from the recent flooding in the UK.
Government has already announced over £46million for flood-hit
areas as well as more support through the special Bellwin scheme.
This application is subject to meeting the eligibility criteria
set out by the European Commission. If successful we would expect
resources to be available in nine to twelve months time.
The aim of the EUSF is to help Member States meet the uninsurable
costs of dealing with natural disasters, for example, supporting
the costs of emergency services, cleaning up and putting
infrastructure back into working order.
John Healey made clear the Government will put together the
strongest case possible for additional funding for local
communities, with the Commission making final decisions on whether
countries will qualify. We are still assessing the extent of the
damage caused in both the June and July floods - we are making the
application now to ensure we would get any money as soon as possible.
For the application to be successful, the technical criteria set
out by the EU state the total amount of damage caused by a natural
disaster has to exceed £2.2billion.
The Commission do not provide full funding for the cost of the
damage. They would only provide a proportion of the costs which
they decide - insurers will also have a key role to play as well
as central government, local government, industry and other
agencies playing their part as well.
John Healey MP said:
"As part of the cross-Government work to support flood-hit
communities get back on their feet I can confirm we are working on
an application for funding from the EU Solidarity Fund. As a
member of the EU we intend to exercise our right for support from
the Solidarity Fund which was set up specifically to help
countries that have experienced extensive damage from natural
disasters such as the recent floods.
"We have already announced over £46million of support for
flood-hit areas and there will be more support through the special
Bellwin scheme.
"I can also confirm that we've had constructive
official-level discussions with the European Commission in which
they've indicated that we can make a single application
covering both the June and July floods.
"The final decision will rest with the Commission but we
will make the strongest possible case. As part of this we are
continuing to carry out assessments of costs with those areas
affected by the June floods and stand ready to do the same with
areas hit by the more recent floods.
"Clearly those areas that are currently flooded need time to
deal with more immediate practical concerns before reviewing the
scale and cost of overall damage. The top priority has been
safeguarding life and property and some areas are only now
starting to move into the recovery phase.
"We are committed to doing everything we can to help life
return to normal as quickly as possible in local communities and
believe this application can play a part in this. A successful EU
application would be a useful addition to the package of support
we're already putting in place - this European bid is however
only one part of our efforts to support flood-hit communities."
Notes to Editors
The EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF)
The EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) was established in November 2002 to
provide financial assistance in the aftermath of major disasters
in Member States and pre-accession countries, which cannot be
covered by the regular EC Budget. Under the provisions governing
the EUSF up to EUR 1 billion can be provided in a given budget
year to fund uninsurable costs including emergency relief and
reconstruction operations, above that provided for in the
EU's spending plans for the period 2007 to 2013, which are
known as the Financial
Perspective.
Before a Member State can apply for support from the Fund, the
total amount of damages incurred in a major disaster must exceed a
certain amount. The EUSF's eligibility threshold for what are
termed "National Level Disasters" is for all damages,
insurable and uninsurable damage to exceed EUR 3 billion (2002
prices) or 0.6% of the affected country's Gross National
Income (GNI) in order to qualify for assistance, whichever is the
lower. In the UK's case, the threshold is now E.2 billion at
current prices.
The assistance from the EUSF is apportioned progressively such
that the portion of the damage exceeding the 0.6% GNI threshold
gives rise to aid amounting to 6% of total direct damage while the
rate is 2.5% for the total direct damage under the threshold. The
aid provided - were the thresholds met - would only be a small
proportion of the total aid required. Between 2002 and 2005,
member States have received from the Fund between 2.5% and 5% of
the total damage suffered - so if the UK's total damage is
£2.5bn, we might expect between £62.5 million and £125 million.
Application Process
The UK has to complete a detailed application form indicating:-
* What areas of the country were affected;
* The economic and
social repercussions of the disaster
* The total amount of
direct damage caused
* How much of that damage was caused to
public property
* The percentage of the Gross National income
that the damage represented
* Estimating the costs incurred in
areas which the EUSF will support. These are:-
* the
immediate restoration of infrastructure and plant in the fields of
energy, water and waste water, telecommunications, transport,
health and education;
* Providing temporary accommodation and
funding rescue services to meet the immediate needs of the
population in the affected areas;
* Immediate securing of
preventive infrastructures and measures of immediate protection of
the cultural heritage
* Immediate cleaning up of
disaster-stricken areas.
UK and Commission officials will then discuss the final detail of
the application and resolve any issues. The Commission will then
carry internal consultations and determine an amount of grant that
would be appropriate in the circumstances. The Commission will
then recommend a grant for approval by the European Council and
European Parliament.
The UK and the Commission then sign an agreement on how the grant
will be implemented and the money paid.
Any funding received has to be spent within one year of receipt.
If the UK receives any money from the Fund, then it will be
required to report on what that money has been used for. If not
all the money received is spent, then it will have to be returned
to the Commission. Likewise, if the expenses for which the Fund is
asked to support turn out to be less than we estimated, then any
excess payment will have to be reimbursed to the Commission.
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