Government commit £5m for flood risk households

The funding comes on top of any help already provided by local authorities, the insurance industry and households themselves. A consultation inviting views on how best the money can be spent is being published today and looks at the possibility of providing a free home flood survey and offering a grant to cover some of the costs of the measures themselves.

Environment Minister Phil Woolas said: "Traditional community level defences are not a viable answer to flooding in all areas, but