Plea to compensate flood victims

The north east of Scotland was deluged

The UK Government should compensate Scottish flood victims for the damage caused to their property, an MP has said.

Moray MP Angus Robertson said help should be given to ease the difficulties which arose from the deluge which swept north east Scotland last month.

Hundreds of residents were forced to leave their homes and many businesses ceased trading after the third flood to blight the area in five years.

During the flooding thousands of sandbags failed to hold back flood waters as torrential rain caused rivers to burst their banks in Moray.

Angus Robertson: Government must help

Moray Council is expected to make a claim for £1m through the Bellwin scheme, which makes emergency payments to local authorities.

Mr Robertson, a Scottish National Party MP, said: "It's in times of crisis that governments need to act if they are to have credibility.

"The floods in Moray are such a crisis and it's time for the government to act."

Mr Robertson said in some streets every home had a skip outside to cart away the ruined possessions.

He said the deluge came on top of job losses in the fishing industry and that the areas hardest hit had some of the lowest average incomes north of the border.

Flood prevention

The MP urged staff at the Department for Work and Pensions to give a sympathetic response to requests for loans and grants from the Social Fund.

Maria Eagle, junior minister at the Department for Work and Pensions, offered her sympathies to the flood victims.

She said there had been 29 applications to the social fund, averaging £100 each, totalling £2,968, and two community care grants totalling £744.

However, since between 400 and 500 households were affected by the floods, the minister expected more applications as residents returned to their homes.

The flooding triggered calls for a national flood prevention strategy.

But the Scottish Executive said it believed local flood prevention schemes were the most effective way to deal with the problem.