Chamber and committees

Following initial discussions between Ministers in the aftermath of Storm Babet, the Deputy First Minister chaired the first formal meeting of the Storm Babet recovery taskforce this morning. It brought together relevant ministers and the Chair of the Tayside Recovery Group to discuss the impact of Storm Babet and any support the Scottish Government can provide for impacted communities working in partnership with local recovery partnerships.

The taskforce agreed a package of Scottish Government support for those suffering from the impacts of Storm Babet. This package will include a £1,500 community recovery payment for individuals whose properties have been flooded, and a £3,000 business recovery grant for businesses impacted by flooding. Grants will be administered by local authorities, further information on when and how to access will be made available in due course. 

In addition, support is already available to impacted households and businesses through Council Tax and Non-Domestic Rates, with powers available to Councils to exempt households and provide reliefs for impacted properties. Ministers also agreed to an extension of the timeframe to which the Bellwin scheme will apply, which will further support Local Authorities with the cost of recovery. The Scottish Welfare Fund is also in operation to help people in Scotland on low incomes through crisis grants and community care grants. There will also be support for the repair of agricultural floodbanks as well as an additional £50,000 for the Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RSABI) to help bolster the charity’s Flooding Crisis Fund.

This support is in addition to our long-standing annual funding of £42 million and the additional £150 million for flood risk management and £12 million for coastal change adaptation over the course of this parliament.

The taskforce will also consider medium and long term impacts of Storm Babet, and will meet in another two weeks to assess progress.