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<p>The joint Government and insurance industry Flood Re scheme aims to promote affordability
and availability of insurance for UK households at high flood risk. In 2022/23, Flood
Re provided cover for over 265,000 household policies. More than 500,000 properties
have benefitted since the scheme’s launch.</p><p>In April 2022 the Government made
regulations to allow Flood Re to pay claims from insurers which include an amount
for resilient repair (Build Back Better) up to a value of £10,000 over and above the
cost for like-for-like reinstatement. Build Back Better will further help eligible
flooded households become more resilient to flooding, enable homeowners to return
more quickly after any future flooding, and will help reduce the cost of damages after
a flood.</p><p> </p><p>In October, the Government also announced a significant package
of support that will be available to eligible areas in England that have experienced
exceptional localised flooding as a result of Storm Babet. Areas reporting over 50
flooded properties at Lead Local Flood Authority will be eligible. The Flood Recovery
Framework includes:</p><ul><li>Community Recovery Grant: Eligible Local Authorities
will receive funding equivalent to £500 per flooded household to support local recovery
efforts. (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) (DLUHC).</li><li>Business
Recovery Grant: The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) may provide eligible Local
Authorities up to £2,500 per eligible small and medium-sized enterprise, which has
suffered severe impacts from flooding that cannot be recovered from insurance. (DBT).</li><li>Council
Tax Discount: The Government will reimburse eligible Local Authorities for the cost
of a 100% council tax discount for a minimum of three months for both the flooded
property and also for temporary accommodation for the household whilst families are
unable to return home. (DLUHC).</li><li>Business Rate Relief: The Government will
reimburse eligible authorities for the cost of providing businesses 100% relief from
business rates for a minimum of three months if flood water entered the property,
or the flooding seriously impacted upon the businesses’ ability to trade from the
property (DLUHC).</li></ul><p> </p><p>The Government is also making payments of up
to £5,000 available to help eligible flooded householders and businesses to install
Property Flood Resilience measures to make their properties more resilient to future
flooding (Defra).</p><p> </p><p>This is in addition to the Government’s commitment
to double the funding from £2.6 billion (for 2015-21) to £5.2 billion (over a period
of 6 years from 2021) to reduce the harm and damage caused by flooding and coastal
erosion, protecting people’s lives and minimising the disruption to their livelihoods.</p>
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