Asked by: Robbie Moore (Conservative - Keighley and Ilkley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs during the oral question on Flood Resilience of 14 November 2024, Official Report, column 889, and pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2024 to Question 16251 on Internal Drainage Boards: Finance, whether the (a) allocation of a further £50 million to internal drainage boards and (b) provision of a one-off £75 million IDB Fund constitute separate funding streams; and how much his Department has (i) allocated and (ii) disbursed to internal drainage boards in financial year 2024-25.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The one-off £75 million Internal Drainage Board (IDB) Fund will accelerate IDBs’ recovery from the winter 2023-24 storms and provide opportunities to modernise and upgrade assets. This funding will support greater resilience for farmers and rural communities in the long term.
To date, the Environment Agency has allocated £54.62 million and has disbursed £30.4 million, with the rest of the 2024-25 funding on track to be disbursed by the end of March 2025.
Asked by: Robbie Moore (Conservative - Keighley and Ilkley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent (a) meetings and (b) other discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on proposed changes to (a) Agricultural and (b) Business Property Relief.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues. Cabinet discussions are considered confidential.