Hull MPs win new Government flood cash

Hull Labour MPs have welcomed today's announcement by Floods Recovery Minister John Healey of a further £7.5 million for Hull.

The money comes from the Government's special Restoration Fund to support continued local efforts to rebuild communities following the floods in June 2007. Ministers have pledged that there will be no strings attached to this funding, so that councils will be able to spend this money as they decide according to local priorities.

This new money brings the total Government flood-related funding for Hull to £15.6 million and follows intensive lobbying of ministers by Hull's three Labour MPs. It is the largest allocation under the Restoration Fund to any individual local authority.

The new money - £31 million nationally to 62 flood affected areas - is on top of over £100 million provided by Government to date and is a significant contribution to local flood recovery efforts. This sum includes a further £17million announced today by Transport Minister Rosie Winterton to repair roads and bridges damaged by the floods.

Hull City Council is still to submit a fully detailed bid for the first round of Department of Transport money after appeals from Hull MPs and the Transport Minister herself. The local authority and the Department of Transport are still involved in detailed discussions to take forward this bid.

In a joint statement, Hull North MP Diana Johnson and Hull West and Hessle MP Alan Johnson said: "We are delighted that our frequent discussions with ministers have resulted in Hull getting the largest slice of this new money for flood recovery work.

"This is a victory for effective lobbying on the basis of accurate factual information about Hull's needs. We believe that this approach always achieves most.

"It is now Hull City Council's task to decide how this money can be most wisely used locally and we hope that lessons will be learnt from last year's experience with the first Government funding that was given to Hull for immediate flood hardship relief.

"With the recent publication of the Pitt Review, we will continue to pursue the longer term issues central to helping Hull to recover from the floods of 2007 and, above all, be better prepared for the future.

"The Labour Government has shown its ongoing commitment to helping Hull's flood recovery. We now want to see further evidence of a similar commitment to Hull from others who also have a key role to play in this process - especially Yorkshire Water and the insurance industry."