A £700m increase for flood defences and a 0.5% increase in insurance premium tax to 10% has today been announced by Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne in his 2016 Budget.
The chancellor announced the 0.5% rise in insurance premium tax, with the money being spent on funding flood defences.
Unveiling the measure in the Budget, he announced new projects to protect five areas in Cumbria and Yorkshire.
In response to The Chancellor’s Budget speech, the CLA has said that the boost to funding on flood defence must include investment in using rural land to ‘slow the flow’.
CLA President Ross Murray said: “Flooding, and the risk of flooding, causes misery for thousands of home and business owners.
“The Chancellor is right to increase investment with a £700m boost to spending on flood defences.
“The key will be to ensure enough money is invested in planting trees and slowing the flow, this is often far better value for money than hard defences like walls.
“Landowners across the countryside are essential to making this happen and they want to be part of the solution.
“The right support must be put in place to allow land manger to change how they use their land.
“The CLA is at the forefront of developing this new approach to flood management.”
