Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

TTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of directly fully funding internal drainage boards.

Defra has committed to work with the internal drainage board (IDB) sector and MHCLG to review IDBs’ current funding and costs. This will include examination of whether any changes are needed to their funding model.

IDBs are local independent statutory public bodies, mainly funded by the beneficiaries of their work. This includes farmers who pay drainage rates and local authorities that pay special levies. Those beneficiaries are represented on the boards of IDBs, where decisions on the forthcoming programme of work and sets the annual drainage rates and special levies.