District council to benefit as central government announces £3m new payment for authorities with drainage boards

Councils such as South Holland which have drainage boards will be given another payment by central government to balance the books for the next financial year.

South Holland District Council has led the calls for fairer funding and announced it was set to have to pay £279,000 more to its drainage boards this financial year.

It’s one of the reasons it’s looking to make £12m worth of cuts over the next four years.

After complaints to central government last year it was given a payment but told it was one off.

Now the government have allocated £3m funding again and says it will look towards creating a long term solution.

South Holland District Council’s portfolio holder for finance, Paul Redgate, is also the chairman of the Local Government Association Special Interest Group (SIG) on Internal Drainage Board levies set up to lobby the government.

He said: “The SIG councils are grateful to the Secretary of State for listening and recognising the serious impact the Internal Drainage Board (IDBs) levies are having on our councils.

“We welcome the commitment to address this long-standing issue and we look forward to progressing conversations further with government. 

“As a group of 29 councils all affected in some way by IDB levies, we have been working in partnership to collectively lobby the government for a fairer and more sustainable way to fund the important work of internal drainage boards without impacting on the council’s ability to afford services.  We will continue our effort until a formal agreed, long-term resolution is secured.

“There is no doubt the operations of IDBs are vital for our communities in reducing flood risk and maintaining water levels to reduce the impact of flooding. The IDB levy imposed by the government – has reached unprecedented levels, leaving these councils in a precarious and unfair position with no choice but to put council tax up and consider cuts to services to fund these increases.”

“The cost is one that SIG councils simply can no longer afford.

“The SIG is also grateful to the government for awarding an additional £3m funding this year to the Councils most impacted by the levies. We await confirmation of the funding allocations.”

There are more councils sharing the £3m and Coun Redgate told a meeting of South Holland District Council last night (Wednesday): “We don’t know how much it is. It’s just a sticking plaster for now.

“The better news is they’re looking at a long term solution.

“We are maintaining the pressure to ensure they do stick to that but over the long term we may be in a much stronger  position than we are now and have a clearer resolution how we deal with the local drainage boards.

“Given the flooding we’ve had recently we do recognise the great work they do to keep us safe.”

The announcement by he Secretary of State for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove states: “Last year we provided one-off funding to local authorities struggling with Internal Drainage Board levies.

“We have listened to authorities who continue to face sustained increases in these levies.

“We will again provide £3 million outside of the settlement to support those experiencing the biggest pressures.

“We will work with the sector and the Department for the Environment, Agriculture and Rural Affairs to implement a long-term solution.”