The new schemes were launched last week by the Prime Minister as part of a comprehensive package to help homeowners and businesses in flood affected areas get back on their feet and make their properties more resilient to flooding in the future.

Support for businesses

• businesses that have been flooded since December 2013 will qualify for 100% business rate relief for 3 months, regardless of how long they were flooded
• government will guarantee to reimburse councils’ costs of providing 100% rate relief, enabling local authorities to start providing this relief immediately
• the initial funding allocations to councils in flood affected areas from the new £10 million Business Support Scheme have also been set out today
• these funding allocations will enable councils to start identifying affected businesses straight away and provide emergency hardship funding
• Business Support Scheme funding is being provided on top of business rate relief, and allows local councils to help both flooded businesses and those who have been indirectly affected through loss of trade, for example by being cut off

Help for homeowners

• as announced by the Prime Minister yesterday, the government will provide up to £4 million to councils to help provide people whose properties are flooded with a council tax rebate of at least 3 months
• this funding guarantee to local authorities means that they can start providing this council tax relief immediately
• the new Repair and Renewal Grants will go live from 1 April and will provide financial support for households and businesses to contribute to work that improves a property’s ability to withstand future flooding
• grants of up to £5,000 will be paid to flooded homeowners and businesses, once a survey to identify appropriate resilience measures has been completed; the cost of the survey is part of the grant

Prime Minister David Cameron said:

This government is continuing to take decisive action across the board to help hard-working people affected by the floods. We have led the immediate response through COBR, and put in place a range of measures to help people in the longer-term.

Today I am publishing details of how homeowners and businesses can access a range of new funding schemes which I announced over the last week.

We are helping people who need help now and protecting communities who need protecting in the future.

Details of the £10 million fund for farmers to help restore their waterlogged land will be announced shortly.