Current status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 17 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how funding to local authorities for flood defences will change as a result of the in-year spending reductions outlined in its fiscal statement on 3 September 2024.
Within an extremely challenging financial context, the Scottish Government has made difficult funding decisions. Local authorities have received all the funding they have requested for flood protection in 2024-25 and, as such, £26 million from the Flood Risk Management Programme is being repurposed this financial year to support local government pay and avoid impactful industrial action. We have sought assurances from local authorities through COSLA that redirection of this portion of the funding will not impact on councils progressing with their flood protection schemes as planned.