New funding for local flood rescue teams
The money will be used to buy vital rescue equipment such as boats and emergency response training for their teams.
More than £820,000 has been given to 16 emergency and voluntary groups by Defra to buy rescue equipment and train them to deal with local flood emergencies.
Announcing the new funding, Environment Minister Richard Benyon said:
“In the event of a large-scale flood it is important that we can call upon manpower and equipment from a wide range of emergency services and voluntary groups.
“Through this scheme we have already provided 35 grants to flood rescue teams to improve their flood rescue capabilities. I am pleased that today we have been able to announce funding for a further 16 organisations to buy vital flood rescue equipment helping to improve England’s flood response.”
Some of the organisations who will benefit from funding include:
- The Maritime Coastguard Agency, which has received £116,178 for equipment and training to set up 8 new rescue teams.
- The North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, which has received £76,861 to purchase a vehicle and training for a power boat rescue team.
- The South Worchester LifeSaving Club, which has received £72,000 to purchase equipment and training for a power boat rescue team.
The grants are part of the £2.7 million Flood Rescue Grant Scheme to improve flood response in England and Wales. So far a total of 45 organisations have benefited from funding, including those announced today.
All the equipment bought with the Defra funding will be added to the National Asset Register of flood rescue resources that emergency services across the country can call upon in the event of a major flood.
Notes
- The grant funding announced today is the third and final set of allocations from the Flood Rescue Grant scheme. The first batch of funding was announced in November 2010, worth £919,000, and the second in March 2011, worth £816,000.