Internal Drainage Boards: Finance
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of whether the current funding model for Internal Drainage Boards creates unsustainable financial pressures for local authorities; and what plans she has to reform that model.
Answered by Emma Hardy
In response to increasing financial pressures on Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs), farmers and local authorities, Defra and MHCLG jointly commissioned research into IDB funding, costs, efficiency, value for money and wider benefits. The project, launched in September 2025 and due to conclude in summer 2026, also considers whether changes to the funding model may be needed. Defra and MHCLG will consider the findings carefully.
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