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Technical Paper 1 (1.82MB PDF)



Cover Page

Why is Scotland Different?



Flood Defences

Coastal Zone Management

Planning and the "Insurance Template"

Legislation

Surface Water Drainage and Sewer Overflows

Sustainable Drainage Systems (SUDS)

Flood Resilience

Emergency Planning

Information for Insurers

Is Scotland Ahead? - The response from the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

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Technical Paper 1
Flood Risk & Insurance in England and Wales: Are there lessons to be learned from Scotland? - David Crichton


Emergency Planning
A very effective way to reduce the costs of flood damage is to provide emergency support before, during and after the event. For example the provision of sandbags, assistance with evacuation and clean up, etc.

The 1948 Civil Defence Act promoted the philosophy of a national structure of trained personnel, dedicated facilities, integrated plans, a vertical command structure and material stockpiles for dealing with emergencies. Additional legislation in 1986 gave permission for Civil Defence resources and funds to be used for peacetime emergencies. The announcement by the Home Office Minister, Mike O'Brien at an emergency planning conference on 3rd July 2000 that the Civil Defence Grant was in future not to be used for peacetime emergencies in England and Wales caused some concern. The timing was particularly bad, as only three months later England suffered from the worst inland flooding on record. It is interesting to speculate whether the aftermath of these floods might have been better managed if the Home Office had not, in effect, repealed the 1986 Act without Parliamentary debate or consultation.

More than four years after Mr O'Brien's statement, the emergency planning community in England and Wales was still awaiting new legislation to safeguard their future funding, although a discussion document was issued in August 2001 174 .

The new legislation finally received Royal Assent on 18 November 2004 , and is called the Civil Contingencies Act 2004.

The Act applies to the whole of Britain and while it has a number of good features, it has been criticised on some important aspects:

•  It has been described as "the most draconian and powerful piece of legislation since the 1920 Emergency Powers Act".

•  It contains no indication of what constitutes an emergency

•  There no penalties for or precautions against malicious or fraudulent declaration of an emergency

•  It does not provide the money for state of the art emergency communications systems, equipment, trained personnel, or large scale realistic training exercises.

•  It would make it easier for an authoritarian government to seize power.

For more details about the latest position in England and Wales , see http://www.ukresilience.info/home.htm . This Web site is to be recommended for its information on the latest developments and links to many other relevant sites.

The Bellwin Scheme

The Bellwin Scheme was set up under section 155 of the Local Government and Housing Act, 1989. It exists to give special financial assistance to local authorities which would otherwise be faced with an undue financial burden as a result of providing relief and carrying out immediate work due to large-scale emergencies (usually storms). Where the criteria of the scheme are met, grant is payable to authorities at 85 per cent of the eligible costs incurred above a threshold set for each authority.

After the Autumn 2000 floods, the government improved the Bellwin Scheme in England and Wales by increasing the level of assistance available to local authorities for emergency work from 85% to 100%, pending a full review. This review is now under way.

It should be noted that the Bellwin scheme is intended to provide for additional costs incurred by the local authority, for example staff overtime, and replacement of essential infrastructure. It is not intended to be used for individuals or businesses. Any incident for which assistance is sought must involve conditions which are clearly exceptional by local standards, and the damage to the local authority infrastructure or communities must be exceptional in relation to normal experience. Similarly, any application for assistance must demonstrate that an undue financial burden would otherwise fall on the local authority.




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