Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the number of (a) homes and (b) businesses flooded in 2015 which did not have flood insurance.

Rory Stewart

We understand some Local Authorities may collate information on the number of (a) homes and (b) businesses flooded in 2015 which did not have flood insurance, but we have made no assessment.

To help those affected by the recent flooding, including the uninsured, the Government has announced nearly £200m to support recovery efforts. This includes grants of up to £5000 to make properties and businesses more resilient to future flooding, £500 per household to help with recovery costs, such as provision of temporary accommodation, an average of £2500 per business to support to businesses whose trade has been affected by flooding and Council Tax and Businesses Rate relief.

We are also taking action to protect domestic properties at the highest flood risk by making sure that households can access affordable flood insurance, regardless of where they live. Flood Re has now been set up and it is expected to start accepting policies in April.

We are aware that some small businesses in high flood risk areas may find accessing affordable insurance challenging. We are working to further understand what problems the small business community are experiencing and to discuss the options available for taking action.