Darren Miller AM
Chair of the Public Accounts Committee
National Assembly for Wales
Cardiff Bay
Cardiff
CF99 1NA
4 March 2013
Dear Chair
Civil Emergencies in Wales – Financial Support
Further to the Public Accounts Committee’s consideration of the Wales Audit Office report into Civil Emergencies in Wales on 18 February, please find attached a copy of the guidance provided to all local authorities in Wales on financial assistance for emergencies. This guidance is also published on the Welsh Government website at:
I also agreed to provide some recent examples of where financial
support has been granted.
In 2011, Welsh Government provided a grant of £1 million to Swansea City Council as a contribution towards expenditure incurred in dealing with the recovery phase following a major fire incident at Fforestfach. The funding provided recognised the exceptional circumstances of the incident and the significant costs borne by the authority and its partners in dealing with the fire and its aftermath.
Ceredigion County Council received an award of £34k under the Emergency Financial Assistance Scheme (EFAS) in relation to the emergency response to manage the immediate impact of the major flooding incident in June 2012.
Ceredigion was also awarded a further grant of £110k as a contribution to the costs incurred in dealing with the recovery phase. The recovery costs mainly relate to the repair and replacement of bridges, footpaths and roads that were significantly damaged during the floods as well as providing some council tax relief to residents forced out of their homes due to the flooding.
Prior to 2012, the last EFAS payment known then as “Bellwin Scheme” was to the Isle of Anglesey for flooding in 2004 when a total payment of £568k was awarded.
June E Milligan