The Bellwin scheme is a United Kingdom government emergency financial assistance which "reimburses local authorities for costs incurred on, or in connection with, their immediate actions to safeguard life and property or to prevent suffering or severe inconvenience as a result of a disaster or emergency in their area".[1]
Framework
The scheme is usually set up in response to weather events, but can also be used to cover other circumstances.[2] It is a discretionary scheme which exists to give special financial assistance to local authorities which would otherwise be faced with an undue financial burden as a result of providing relief and carrying out immediate work due to large-scale emergencies. Where the criteria of the scheme are met, the grant is normally payable to authorities at 85% of the eligible costs incurred above a threshold set for each authority, although occasionally the grant rate is increased to 100%.[3][better source needed]
The scheme is named after a 1980s environment minister, Lord Bellwin, who, as Irwin Bellow had been leader of Leeds City Council from 1975 to 1979. In 1983, Bellwin introduced the compensation scheme, which was incorporated in the Local Government and Housing Act 1989[4] and revised in 2014.[5]
A Bellwin scheme may be activated, at the discretion of the environment secretary,
- when an emergency or disaster involving destruction of, or danger to, life or property occurs;
- and, as a result, one or more local authorities incur expenditure on, or in connection with the taking of immediate action;
- or to safeguard life or property or to prevent suffering or severe inconvenience in a local authority's area or among its inhabitants.
Councils, police, fire and national park authorities are eligible for Bellwin reimbursement when they have spent more than the usual threshold 0.2% of their calculated annual revenue budget on works which meet the above criteria that have been reported to the Department as eligible for an announced grant scheme.[6]
Bellwin-like schemes under the devolved administrations of the United Kingdom
Bellwin support or schemes are the responsibility of the devolved administrations outside England.[1] The scheme's operation in Scotland is under the control of the Scottish Government, but is broadly the same the English scheme. The Welsh Government operates an equivalent scheme called the Emergency Financial Assistance Scheme (EFAS).[7]
The Northern Ireland Executive has established specific, time-limited schemes rather than a single equivalent to the Bellwin scheme.[8] The most recent scheme runs from July to August 2019.
Events for which the Bellwin scheme has been enacted
England
- 2020 Storm Ciara and Storm Dennis.[9][10]
- 2019 Whaley Bridge dam damage and summer flooding in North Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.[11] Also flooding in November in Yorkshire.[12]
- 2018 United Kingdom wildfires[13]
- 2017 Grenfell Tower Fire[14]
- 2015–16 Great Britain and Ireland floods inclusive of Storm Desmond, Flooding in Cumbria, Lancashire and Yorkshire.[15]
- 2013–14 Southern England flooding (inclusive of storm events from 5 December onwards including the North Sea surge, Christmas storms and the New Year storms)[16]
- 2012 Summer flooding
- 2011 England riots
- 2011 Swinley Forest fire[17]
- 2008 Morpeth floods
- 2007 United Kingdom floods
- 2005 Buncefield oil depot fire
- 2001 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak
- 2000 Autumn floods
- 1999 Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509 crash near Stansted Airport
- 1998 Easter floods
- 1996 Docklands bombing
- 1996 Manchester bombing
- 1995 Unexploded World War II bomb Isle of Portland
- 1995 Fire on Thorne Moor, near Doncaster
- 1994 January West Sussex and Isle of Wight
- 1993 20/21 February storm North Norfolk
- 1993 9 and 12 June heavy rainfall and flooding in Cornwall.[18]
- 1989/1990 inclusive of Storm 16/17 December 1989 and Burns' Day storm Jan 25 1990.
- 1987 Great storm
- 1987 Severe snowfall in Kent and Norfolk
Scotland
- 2018 Great Britain and Ireland cold wave[19]
- 2015 Storm Desmond flooding in particular Scottish Borders, Dumfries and Galloway, Tayside, Speyside and Moray.[20]
- 2014 Flooding from the extratropical remains of Hurricane Bertha.[21]
- 2012 Flooding in Comrie, Perth and Kinross.[22]
- 2005 Gudrun storm[23]
- 2004 Perth and Kinross flooding[23]
- 2003 Shetland landslides[23]
- 2002 Moray flooding[23]
- 2001 Scottish Borders and South Lanarkshire snowfall[23]
- 2000 Subsidence at Ferniehill (Edinburgh)[23]
- 2000 Edinburgh and Midlothian flooding[23]
- 1998 Boxing Day Storm[23]
- 1997 Moray flooding[23]
- 1996 Dumfries and Galloway heavy snow[23]
- 1995/1996 Severe weather December and January[23]
- 1995 Grampian flooding[23]
- 1994 Strathclyde flooding[23]
- 1993 Tayside flooding[23]
Reform
In January 2014 Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government announced that during the 2013–2014 floods the Bellwin scheme would refund 100% of local spending, with the threshold of 0.02% of annual council revenue also reduced. He also announced that a full review of the Bellwin scheme was also to be undertaken, with a view to future reform.[24][25][needs update]
See also
- European Union Solidarity Fund, a disaster relief fund operated by the European Union for member states, which has a much higher threshold of loss requirement (€3 billion at 2002 prices, or more than 0.6% gross national income).
- List of natural disasters in the United Kingdom
References
- ^ a b "Bellwin Scheme Communities and Local Government". What the Government Says. 6 February 2014. Archived from the original on 29 April 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
- ^ "The Bellwin scheme" (PDF). House of Commons Library. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
- ^ "Bellwin Scheme". localgovglossary. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
- ^ "BELLWIN SCHEME OF EMERGENCY FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO LOCAL AUTHORITIES" (PDF). Department for Communities and Local Government. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
- ^ Pickles announces shake-up of emergency funds after flooding, BBC Democracy Live, 6 February 2014. Retrieved: 8 December 2015.
- ^ "10/07/2012 – Government implements 100% Bellwin scheme to help flood hit councils". Association of Drainage Authorities. 10 July 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
- ^ "Welsh Government|Emergency Financial Assistance Scheme". gov.wales. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
- ^ Sandford, Mark. "The Bellwin scheme" (PDF). Commons Briefing papers SN00643. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
- ^ "Jenrick activates emergency Bellwin Scheme for storm-hit areas". 10 February 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
- ^ "Bellwin Scheme activated in storm-hit areas". GOV.UK. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
- ^ "Activation of Bellwin Scheme and cash boost for Whaley Bridge". GOV.UK. 10 August 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
- ^ "Bellwin scheme activated by Government to support local communities hit by recent flooding". www.publicsectorexecutive.com. Archived from the original on 12 November 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
- ^ "Budget has 'hole' due to fire funds delay". 6 February 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
- ^ Kuenssberg, Laura (15 June 2017). "Govt confirms Bellwin scheme, that releases extra cash for councils, will apply to help cope with aftermath of awful fire". @bbclaurak. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
- ^ "North west England floods 2015: government response". Environment Agency. 11 December 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ^ "Government announces £7m extra for flood recovery". Farming UK. 17 January 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
- ^ "Fire service asks for £400,000 grant after Swinley fire". BBC News. 18 September 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
- ^ "Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment ANNEX 5 – Chronology of Major Flood Events in Cornwall" (PDF). Cornwall Council. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
- ^ "Emergency weather funding scheme opened". BBC News. 3 March 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
- ^ "DFM triggers Bellwin Scheme". The Scottish Government. 7 December 2015. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ^ "Scottish Government invoke Bellwin Scheme to support Flooded Communities". Flooding & Coastal Erosion Risk Management Network. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- ^ Urquhart, Frank (22 November 2012). "Bellwin scheme set to help Perth and Kinross Council with Comrie flood repair costs". The Scotsman. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Review of the Bellwin Scheme – A Consultation Paper". The Scottish Government. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
- ^ Johnstone, Richard (6 February 2014). "Pickles extends Bellwin scheme for flood-hit councils". Public Finance. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
- ^ "Pickles announces shake-up of emergency funds after flooding". BBC News. 6 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
External links
- House of Commons Library Briefing Paper: The Bellwin Scheme
- Summary of past Bellwin grant payments 1989-2000
This page was last edited on 2 January 2024, at 06:31