FEARS that the Kingdom would miss out on a share of £150 million for flood prevention measures have been allayed by the Scottish Government.
Fife Council officers told the policy and co-ordination committee on Thursday that the funding, announced in September as part of the Programme for Government, had already been earmarked for existing projects and there was "no new money" they could bid for.
However, this has been denied by ministers, who say the funding will be allocated to local authorities next month following discussions with umbrella body Cosla.
The £150m will be allocated over five years, on top of an existing £42m grant spread across Scotland’s local authorities each year.
Derek Crowe, the council’s roads and transportation service manager, told the committee there had been “mixed” messages on how the extra money would be allocated – but that he believed Fife could not tap into the reserve.
“Currently for next year the Scottish Government has got £42m allocated for pre-arranged and prioritised programmes that have been on the books for a number of years,” he said.
“This additional £150m is only to deliver those schemes that have now been advanced to the level of detailed design and tendering, and the value of them has inflated significantly.
“There is no new money here that Fife Council can bid in for. It is money that has actually been allocated to existing projects around Scotland, and none of those are in Fife.”
He added: “I’d like to stop any confusion that there may be around members and perhaps community groups that the council could be accessing this £150m.
“We’ve had it clarified that it is not really available to us.”
A motion by Cllr David Ross to seek clarity from ministers on the council’s eligibility for extra cash was passed unopposed, while Cowdenbeath MSP Annabelle Ewing also sought clarification.
In response, the Scottish Government confirmed that the new money will be going directly to local authorities within its Capital Spending Review for the next five years, which it published last week.
The flood cash is included in a combined £2.49 billion “support for capital” fund to be allocated to local government between now and 2026.
A spokesman said: “Last week’s publication of the Capital Spending Review confirmed that all of the £150m, as set out in the Programme for Government for flood risk management activities, would be allocated to local authorities.
“The detailed distribution arrangements for this additional amount will be subject to discussion with Cosla, with the first meeting taking place next month.
“While the terms of reference of the joint Cosla and Scottish Government working group have yet to be agreed, it is likely that the working group will wish to consider the effectiveness of the existing distribution arrangements, and to consider whether to recommend any changes to these.”
However, Mr Crowe said he was sticking to his guns until he saw evidence Fife was eligible for the money.
“Our understanding is that this money is intended for existing schemes, already identified,” he said.
“We’ve not seen the financial profile for the additional £150m funding. However, if the detailed distribution arrangements for this is to be discussed with Cosla and does allow Fife to apply, we’ll take the opportunity to bid for more money. We look forward to hearing more about this.”
Government cash aside, Fife councillors committed £5m over the next 10 years for local flood prevention, along with a one-off £450,000 boost for 2021/22 to continue assessing the 600-plus areas of Fife that suffered severe localised flooding in August last year.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here