Britain’s Environment Secretary yesterday insisted the Environment Agency (EA) was seeking to protect frontline services as it deals with a funding squeeze.
Owen Paterson yesterday was forced to deny staff cuts will impact on vital flood defences as a fresh battering of Britain by extreme winter weather sparked a funding row.
Unions said axing around 550 staff from the flood team would inevitably affect services after EA chief executive Paul Leinster admitted risk maintenance “will be (further) impacted”.
He told environmental policy magazine The ENDS Report that work on mapping, modelling and new developments in flood warning “will also have to be resized”.
“And we’re looking at a proportionate reduction in the number of people in flood risk management,” he added.
As strong winds, high tides and a storm surge combined to inflict fresh flooding on parts of Britain, Paterson chaired a meeting of the Government’s emergency Cobra committee. Afterwards he defended the Government’s spending on defences and said he had been assured by Leinster that he had “every intention” of sparing frontline flood work.
“His intention is to protect front-line services as he makes his efficiencies,” he said.
“This Government is spending more than any previous government on flood defences – 165,000 properties will be protected by 2015.”
People are being warned to remain vigilant, with eight severe flood warnings still in place – mostly across south west England and Gloucestershire – down from 20 overnight.
The EA estimated that around 130 new properties had been flooded and the risk of more being inundated is expected to persist throughout the weekend. More than 300 other flood warnings were also in force ahead of another expected very high tide this evening.
The storms have already claimed at least two lives. The body of a 27-year-old man from Surrey was found on Porthleven Sands beach in Cornwall. He had been swept out to sea on New Year’s Eve night, having gone for a paddle with friends at nearby Loe Bar.
In a second tragedy on Tuesday, a woman died after being swept out to sea at the popular beauty spot Croyde Bay in north Devon. The woman, who was believed to be on holiday with her family, was rescued from the sea and airlifted to hospital before being confirmed dead by doctors. Elsewhere, in Dorset a search was carried out for a man who is believed to have fallen into the River Stour, near Iford Bridge in Christchurch.
In Scotland heavy rain and gusts of up to 60mph could sweep across the country today, bringing further disruption after days of wet weather. High tides and a storm surge have increased the risk of flooding in the Firth of Clyde