Scottish Government inaction regarding flood damage in North East of Scotland

Following the latest disastrous flooding to hit the North East of Scotland, Galen Milne the Liberal Democrat prospective Westminster candidate for Banff and Buchan has expressed his anger at the lack of action to protect people's homes and businesses.

Having witnessed the flood damage caused back in September Mr Milne then wrote to SNP Minister for the Environment Roseanna Cunningham MSP to enquire what measures the Scottish Government might bring forward to help the local councils reduce the risks in vulnerable areas. He is very disappointed at the inadequate response he has now received from the Scottish Government.

In a written reply dated 6th November the Environmental Quality Directorate suggests little has changed despite the increased damage and destruction caused. The reply identifies a timeframe that indicates no major flood prevention work will happen until 2015 when local authorities in conjunction with Scottish Water and SEPA will be expected to produce flood risk management plans.

Galen Milne comments - "According to the reply from Ms Cunningham's department it will be 6 years before the plans alone are in place. Having witnessed the damage at the back of the Mormond Inn, Strichen back in September and reading about the further damage in last weeks Buchan Observer I frankly believe the time for government inaction on is past. SEPA already has maps that identify the areas most at risk of flooding (see http://www.sepa.org.uk/flooding/flood_map.aspx) so this is little short of prevarication on the SNP government's part".

He added - "It's all very well having populist policies such as a council tax freeze but this equates to real cuts in a local authorities budget, thereby restricting its ability to carry out major structural works. In my opinion this is another sad reflection on the priorities being set by this SNP government. My Liberal Democrat colleagues have now raised the matter again in Holyrood".

Mike Rumbles LibDem MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, whose constituency was also badly hit, raised the issue during First Minister's questions on 5th November to ask if the DISASTER fund rules could be changed by the Scottish Government to help Aberdeenshire Council deal with the chaos of severe flooding. The Bellwin Scheme operates under Section 155(2) of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and allows Scottish Ministers to make additional revenue support to local authorities to assist with the immediate, and unforeseen, costs in dealing with the aftermath of emergency incidents.

In response the First Minister said: "The finance secretary will see what can be done."

Galen Milne welcomed this news but warned against raising false expectations - "The response I received dated 6th November from Ms Cunningham's department suggests it will take years for real action. I know Mike Rumbles is going to raise the matter again this week in parliament in the hope of securing an adequate response to this increasing risk of flooding in the North East. The SNP government must act as quickly as the Federation of Small Businesses, which is offering flood-hit firms across the north-east £5,000 interest-free loans to affected businesses! "