
How are IDBs funded?
The expenses of an IDB are predominantly funded by the local beneficiaries of the water level management work they provide. Each IDB sets a budget for its planned work in the forthcoming year and any investments it needs to make for future projects. Section 36 of the Land Drainage Act 1991 determines that these expenses of an IDB shall be met by:
• Drainage rates collected from agricultural land and buildings within the Internal Drainage District;
• Special Levies issued on District and Unitary Authorities within the Internal Drainage District;
• Contributions from the Environment Agency (see Higher Land Water Contributions (HLWC) from EA to IDB).
Drainage Rates and Special Levies
All land and properties within a Drainage District are deemed to derive benefit from the activities of an IDB and therefore subject to contributions to the expenses of the IDB paid annually to the Board. For the purposes of rating, properties are divided into
a) Agricultural Land and Buildings (farmhouses, barns, stables, silos etc.)
b) Other Land (such as domestic houses, factories, shops etc).
Occupiers of all “Other Land” pay Council Tax, Business Rates or Local Services Support Rates to the District or Unitary Authority who then are charged a Special Levy by the Board in proportion to the annual value of this “Other Land”.
The Board, therefore, only demands Drainage Rates direct on Agricultural Land and Buildings. The division of the expenses of the IDB raised via drainage rates versus special levy is determined by the total annual value of all agricultural land and buildings in the Internal Drainage District versus the total annual value of all other non-agricultural land and buildings within the Internal Drainage District.
As land moves out of agricultural production and is built on so the appropriate rates and levies are adjusted proportionately. The IDB can be informed of such changes either directly by the land occupier/owner or by the respective Council’s District valuer.
Note: Differential Rates | Section 38 of the Land Drainage Act 1991 enables the division of Internal Drainage Districts for the purposes of setting different drainage rates and special levies in each sub-district. In principle, Differential Rates are only used to reflect differential levels of service from an IDB. This may occur where a part of the District is pumped and another part drains under gravity, or where some parts of the District receive a reduced or enhanced level of benefit from IDB activity (e.g. significantly higher land within the District, or coastal land within the District). For more information, seek the Association of Drainage Authorities’ briefing paper for IDBs on Differential Rating Orders at www.ada.org.uk.
Higher Land Water Contribution (HLWC) from EA to IDB
Higher land water contributions (also known as highland/higher level water contributions) are enabled under Section 57 of the Land Drainage Act 1991. An IDB may make an application to the Environment Agency for a contribution in relation to the quantity of water which that district receives from lands at a higher level outside of the Board’s district.
It provides funding to contribute to additional water management pressures and therefore additional pumping/maintenance required to manage water from higher in a catchment entering an IDB’s Drainage District. Applications for HLWC are made on an annual basis, and their payment are at the discretion of the Environment Agency.
Additional funding
IDBs can also secure grants to assist with the funding of capital and environmental works projects via Flood Defence Grant in Aid (FDGiA) from Defra, the lottery funding agencies and the European Union where appropriate. In May 2011 the Secretary of State for the Environment introduced a new Partnership Funding policy for flood and coastal risk management projects in England which encourages funding to be secured from sources other than FDGiA. Thus the level of FDGiA funding a project receives relates directly to the public benefits it delivers as set out in the Outcomes Measures guidance available on the Environment Agency’s website.
Environment Agency Precept (from IDB to EA)
Section 141 of the Water Resources Act 1991 enables the Environment Agency to issue precepts to IDBs requiring payment of any amount required to be contributed by those Boards towards the expenses of the Environment Agency.
The Precept allows local funds raised by an IDB to finance works essential to the Main River (statutory designated watercourses which are the responsibility of the EA) within, adjacent or flowing from or into an IDB’s Drainage District. In principle the money is raised by the EA from the IDB for the benefit of the respective District or Districts served. The payment of an EA Precept is compulsory, however an IDB may appeal this precept if they feel it unfair, and may request details of how it has been spent by the Agency.
Financial Security
Long-term certainty of finance is essential to sound water level and flood risk management. Water level management is a daily job, requiring regular action, which must be planned well in advance. In contrast, f lood risk mechanisms may only be tested infrequently but must meet the standards demanded of them on these critical occasions. Both activities transcend political and spending periods as currently set out by the Government.