Proposed Flood Protection schemes in Scotland: EIR release

Information requested

A list of all the proposed Flood Protection schemes in Scotland, their current status and the estimated value of these schemes, details of the funding available for these schemes and an indication which ones will be signed off by the minister in 2024.

Response

As the information you have requested is 'environmental information' for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

Response to your request

Local authorities are responsible for the development and delivery of flood protection schemes.

The 2015-2021 Flood Risk Management Plans included proposals for 42 formal flood protection schemes. A list of proposed schemes set out in the first cycle of Flood Risk Management Plans is attached at Annex A with their current status and estimated value.

Since 2008 the Scottish Government has made available capital funding of £42 million per year to enable local authorities to invest in flood protection measures. Currently 80% of the available £42 million is allocated to prioritised flood schemes set out in the first cycle of Flood Risk Management Plans and the other 20% is allocated between all 32 councils to introduce, upgrade and maintain other flood resilience measures set out in Local Flood Risk Management Plans. Where the Scottish Government has committed to provide funding for cycle one schemes it provides 80% of the cost with the local authority providing the remaining 20%.

The 2020 Programme for Government committed an additional £150 million over the course of this Parliament for flood risk management actions, which is being allocated on an annual basis to support the delivery of flood resilience actions.

The second cycle of Flood Risk Management Plans for the period 2022-2028 were published by SEPA in December 2021 and they outline the long term ambition by setting objectives and identifying actions within a Local plan District. A copy of these Plans can be found at Flood Risk Management Plans | SEPA. The Flood Risk Management Plans are supplemented by the Local Flood Risk Management Plans which set out the detailed actions and how the actions will be funded.

A list of flood studies containing recommendations for flood schemes or works that were put forward by local authorities for consideration within the cycle two Plans is attached at annex B. These were put forward at an early stage of development in 2019 and will be subject to further assessment and review before a decision is made by the local authority whether they are taken forward. Further details on the proposed actions/measures are set out in the Local Flood Risk Management Plans.

A joint Scottish Government/COSLA Flood Risk Management Working Group is currently considering funding and governance arrangements for schemes and actions set out within the cycle two Plans taking on board lessons learned from the first programme and current best practice. Scottish Ministers and Council Leaders have agreed that where funding is available for future schemes the governance approach should be adapted to learn the lessons from cycle one, as such a staged/gateway process to assess and review the viability of schemes put forward for funding is being developed.

Decisions about funding are made jointly by Scottish Ministers and Council Leaders. Recommendations from the Working Group will be put to Ministers and COSLA Leaders via the joint Scottish Government/COSLA officers’ Settlement Distribution Group throughout 2024.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI 202400392063 - Information Released - Annex A and B

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6 page PDF

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192.4 kB