Liz Truss calls for more funding for drainage boards

St Germans Pumping Station pumped approximately 180,000 megalitres of water in 2023/24

Former prime minister Liz Truss has called for more funding for internal drainage boards (IDBs), praising their effectiveness at preventing flooding.

The Tory MP for South West Norfolk said money should be diverted from the Environment Agency to the boards.

"They are effective... but the funding just isn't there," she said.

The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said it helped local authorities facing sustained increases in levies to the boards.

It said it had provided £3m in emergency funding to those worst affected.

IDBs are public bodies that manage water levels in areas where there is a special need for drainage, and work to reduce flood risk.

St Germans Pumping Station is the largest in the UK

Ms Truss told the BBC: "We need to look at the funding currently going to the Environment Agency and put more of that funding into internal drainage boards.

"They are run by local people; they know what they are doing; they understand the local environment; they have an incentive to protect the local farmland.

"They are effective... but the funding just isn't there."

Drains in the Fens take water from surrounding fields to pumping stations, then to the sea

In the naturally marshy Fens region, which includes parts of Ms Truss' constituency, drains take water from fields to pumping stations, which then pump it into the sea.

St Germans Pumping Station, near King's Lynn, Norfolk, is the largest in the UK and pumped approximately 180,000 mega litres of water in 2023/24.

But the wet winter meant it worked harder and used more power than expected, increasing its operating costs dramatically.

Paul Burrows said it has been an extreme winter for rainfall

Paul Burrows, chief executive of the Middle Level Commissioners, which administers local IDBs, said the electricity plan for the site was renewed last year and had caused difficulty.

"It has been an extreme winter for rainfall," he said.

"In combination with that, we were surprised by a standing charge increase from around £4,000 a year to £54,000 with no warning."

The local internal drainage boards cost Fenland District Council about £2m per year.

Alex Miscandlon wants to see a fairer financing system

Alex Miscandlon, a Conservative member of the council, said: "I would like a fairer financing system and for government finance to take over a majority part of it because it is a national problem."

UK Energy regulator Ofgem said it had been made aware of the increase in standing charges for public bodies and was working to find a "lasting solution".