Three perspectives, Defra, The Guardian and the Insurance industry who are not happy! Belated recognition that earlier cuts were not the right direction.

1.  Defra Announcement  Defra ‘An extra £700m in flood defence funding will help deliver the government’s commitment to ensure communities are protected against increasingly extreme weather. ‘This comes on top of the £2.3bn of planned spending up to 2021 – exceeding the Government’s manifesto commitment to build 1,500 flood defence schemes and representing a real terms increase in capital investment that is up from £1.7bn in the last Parliament and £1.5bn 2005-2010.’ To read more click here

2.  The Guardian explains the mechanism to be used: ‘The UK regions hit by the winter floods are set to benefit from an extra £700m to boost flood defences, after the chancellor announced another rise in insurance premium tax and earmarked the cash raised to flood-damaged towns. George Osborne said he would hike the standard rate of IPT by half a percentage point to 10%, and use the proceeds to top up a fund designed to prevent repeats of the carnage that afflicted communities in the north of England and Scotland over the winter. It is the second time in recent months the chancellor has increased IPT. In November it was hiked from 6% to 9.5%. The new increase follows criticisms of the government’s flood policy and a leaked document submitted to ministers that suggested government cuts might be putting an increased number of households at significant risk of flooding. The Treasury’s red book stated: “On top of the government’s £2.3bn capital programme, which will invest in over 1,500 flood defence schemes across the country, Budget 2016 announces an additional boost to spending on flood defence and resilience of over £700m by 2020-2’

To read more click here

3.  Association of British Insurers – On the increase to Insurance Premium Tax:

A further increase in IPT is disappointing news.

“Increased investment in flood defences is vital but should be part of core Government expenditure, not an afterthought paid for by raising taxes on people and businesses who do the responsible thing in protecting themselves through insurance. We will be examining the detail closely to ensure the revenue raised is actually spent on new flood defence schemes.”