John Healey, flood recovery minister, announced that the Government will be lodging an application to the European Commission for support from the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) to help recovery from the recent flooding in the UK.

The Government has already announced over £46m for flood-hit areas as well as more support through the Bellwin scheme (the Bellwin scheme allows Scottish ministers to have additional revenue support to local authorities to assist with the immediate and unforeseen costs in dealing with the aftermath of emergency incidents).

The application to the EUSF is subject to meeting the eligibility criteria set out by the European Commission. The amount of damage caused by a natural disaster has to exceed £2.2bn for the application to be successful.

If successful, resources would be available in nine to twelve months time. The aim of the EUSF is to help member states meet the uninsurable costs of dealing with natural disasters, for example, supporting the costs of emergency services, cleaning up and putting infrastructure back into working order.

Healey said: “ As a member of the EU we intend to exercise our right for support from the Solidarity Fund which was set up specifically to help countries that have experienced extensive damage from natural disasters such as the recent floods.