West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin has welcomed confirmation that an emergency fund will come into operation to help homes and businesses affected by flooding.

Storm Babet has caused major flooding across the country and the rivers Teme and Severn both caused flood damage to properties.

Local district councils will manage the process of awarding grants to help people with emergency costs, council tax relief and extra money to help protect against future flood events.

The Flood Recovery Framework was last put into place in 2020 and Harriett has been briefed on activities which have taken place over recent days to identify affected homes and businesses which may be able to access this support.

Harriett said:

“Storm Babet has affected lots of UK communities and West Worcestershire was also taken by surprise by the heavy rain.

“I am in close contact with the communities affected by flooding and this new funding will ensure that the small number of homes and businesses that were flooded will receive compensation.

“I am planning to gather together all the major players who managed this incident to make sure lessons are learned, focussing on flood information and response from the relevant agencies.

“The Severn, Avon and Teme valleys will always flood but we can continue to improve resilience and complete the two planned schemes in Tenbury Wells and Severn Stoke.”