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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what rules apply to compensation payments made to farmers affected by flooding from the (a) Farming Recovery Fund and (b) other schemes; and what mechanisms are in place to allow for a review when such payments have been refused.

The following rules apply to farmers eligible for support from the Farming Recovery Fund. Farmers will receive payments for all land parcels which are flooded contiguous to a river with notably high river level gauge readings following Storm Henk during 2 to 12 January 2024. The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will determine those farm businesses who are eligible and the amount of funding they could claim. If there are questions, then the farmer should write to the RPA.

More details on the rules and eligibility guidance on implementation of the support available for other schemes activated under the Flood Recovery Framework was sent to Local Authorities, who manage the support provided by the Framework where it has been activated. Further review of the scheme is underway. Support available for farm businesses and residencies includes:

• Where a farm operates a SME ancillary business which is severely impacted by flooding, they were eligible to receive up to £2,500 under the Business Recovery Grant in respect of the ancillary business. This scheme closed to new applications on 12 April.
• They can receive up to £5,000 to eligible flood hit property owners to help make their homes and businesses more resilient to future floods under the Property Flood Resilience Repair Grant; and
• They may also be eligible for Business Rate Relief.

These schemes are run by the relevant Local Authorities and any decisions on appeals should be directed to them to review.