Flood money claim 'has not been received'

The news comes despite assurances from the council that it has filed an interim application for cash from the Government, known as Bellwin payments.

In a statement released on Wednesday morning, council interim managing director Paul Hart said: “We have already submitted an interim claim and our final claim will be completed in January in line with guidance from the Government.”

But the Ministry for Communities and Local Government today said it had not received an application.

A statement said: “Although Doncaster Council is yet to apply for either full or interim Bellwin payments we stand ready to process any application swiftly as our top priority is to make payments fairly and as quickly as possible to those communities affected by the floods.”

Doncaster Council is expecting the bulk of the 10 million costs incurred as a result of the floods to be paid by central government.

So far 1.6 million has already been received from the Government to deal with the crisis and a further 615,000 specially aimed at repairing damage to schools has also been received. The news that no application has been received from Doncaster comes hot on the heels of an announcement by the Floods Minister John Healey that none of the flood-stricken local authorities eligible for cash from the Bellwin scheme has as yet entered a claim.

The Bellwin scheme was set up to provides emergency financial assistance to local authorities. It takes its name from a former Department of the Environment Minister, Lord Bellwin, who introduced the scheme in 1983.

The Floods Minister believes early payment of funds will help authorities with financial planning so they are well placed to continue driving forward the local recovery process as quickly and effectively as possible.

The final deadline for Bellwin applications is in January.