Support for businesses:
- Businesses that have been flooded since December 2013 will qualify for 100% business rate relief for three 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.
- 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 three 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 1st 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.
The government will be announcing details of the £10 million fund for farmers to help restore their waterlogged land shortly.