Funding mechanism for internal drainage boards - annual report to LGA Board 2024

SIG name: Funding Mechanism for Internal Drainage Boards
Lead Member: Councillor Paul Redgate (Deputy Leader, South Holland DC)
Lead Officer: Christine Marshall (Deputy Chief Executive – Corporate Development & Section 151 Officer) at the South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership (East Lindsey DC, Boston BC and South Holland DC)

Email: 
Technical Lead: [email protected] 
James Gilbert: [email protected]
Rebecca Cooke: [email protected]

Address: Priory Road Offices, Spalding, Lincolnshire, PE11 2XE
Telephone: 07957 467811

• Ashford Borough Council
• Bassetlaw District Council
• Bedford Borough Council
• Boston Borough Council 
• Central Bedfordshire Council
• City of Doncaster Council
• City of Lincoln Council
• City of York Council
• East Cambridgeshire District Council
• East Lindsey District Council
• Fenland District Council
• Folkestone and Hythe District Council
• Gloucester City Council
• Great Yarmouth Borough Council
• Huntingdonshire District Council
• Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk 
• Lincolnshire County Council
• Maidstone Borough Council
• Newark & Sherwood District Council
• North Kesteven District Council
• North Lincolnshire Council
• North Norfolk District Council
• North Yorkshire Council
• Sevenoaks District Council
• Somerset Council
• South Holland District Council
• South Kesteven District Council
• Stroud District Council
• Swale Borough Council
• West Lindsey District Council
• West Suffolk Council

The Internal Drainage Boards (IDB) Special Interest Group is a group of 31 Councils with the shared interest of seeking a revised approach from Government to the funding mechanism for IDBs which removes the need for direct Council subsidisation.

This is in recognition of the significant increases in the special levy (£38.947m in 2022/23 to £49.942m in 2024/25) which disproportionately impacts a relatively small number of Councils, placing them at significant financial disadvantage and making them financially precarious.

The SIG contributes to a core priority of the LGA (promoting, improving and supporting local government) through the connection to the theme of a ‘sustainable financial future’.

This is through the work of the SIG to highlight the special levy as a cost pressure for councils and drawing out the impacts of this pressure to Central Government. In addition, the SIG is driving the work to seek a long-term solution to support the financial sustainability of affected councils.

On 24 January 2024, the SIG was successful in securing an announcement from the then Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, for a further £3 million outside of the local government finance settlement to those experiencing the biggest pressures to meet further increases in 2024/25. This also included the commitment to work with the sector and the Department for the Environment, Agriculture and Rural Affairs to implement a long-term solution. 

This announcement was welcomed by the SIG, and it regularly engaged with the department to seek confirmation of the allocation for Councils. At the time of the announcement of the General Election the SIG was still waiting for confirmation of this allocation, and progression on a long-term solution. The SIG will now need to wait until post-election to confirm what this commitment means for the new government. 

This is one key outcome of the variety of work that the SIG has undertaken since its inception to continue to promote the issue to central government. This work programme has included other key activities as set out below:

• established a close and constructive relationship with the Association of Drainage Authorities and Internal Drainage Boards. 
• fostering a positive and effective relationship between Councils subject to an IDB levy increasing awareness and understanding of the key issues.
• collaboration and engagement with the District Councils Network to understand further opportunities to promote the work of the SIG and engage Ministers, including parliamentary options. 
• an event in the House of Commons on 6^th February, sponsored by Rt Hon Liz Truss MP and Rt Hon Sir John Hayes MP, bringing together MPs of affected Councils, Ministers and key partners to highlight the cost pressures and need for a long-term solution. 
• raising the profile of the issue through media (inc. Countryfile, the MJ and the LGC) 
• raising the profile of the issue through questions in the House of Lords and House of Commons.
• submission of evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee follow-up enquiry on Water Quality and Water Infrastructure. 
• engagement with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Department for the Environment, Agriculture and Rural Affairs. 
• submission of a response to the consultation on draft statutory instrument, the English Drainage Boards (Alternative Valuation Calculation) Regulations 2024, highlighting the need to understand the impact for councils. 
• engagement with OFGEM in relation to their review of standing charges which has created a significant cost pressure to IDBs. 
• presenting to an All-Party Parliamentary Group on Flood and Water Management to present on the financing concerns of the SIG.