Flooding in Ballater. Fire fighters try to unblock the drains at the caravan park. Picture by Jim Irvine
The Environment Agency should be exempt from Government spending cuts, a union has said, in the wake of the devastating flooding which has hit many parts of the country.
The GMB said a series of meetings in the coming weeks among EA bosses should be used to halt an exercise of seeking volunteers for redundancy.
The agency should also press to be exempt from making any contribution to the 15% cuts at the Environment Department (Defra), said the union.
A Parliamentary inquiry should be held to establish whether Government cuts are to blame for the misery heaped on the people affected by the recent floods, it said.
Tim Roache, the GMB’s general secretary elect, said: “The public want to see more investment in flood defences not just in York and other areas of Yorkshire, including the Upper Calder Valley, as well as across the rest of the country.
“GMB want senior managers at the Environment Agency at three forthcoming high-level meetings to openly call for the agency to be exempt from making any contribution towards the 15% cut in the Defra budget.
“There should be a halt to the ongoing exercise of seeking volunteers for redundancy.”
Calls for Environment Agency to be exempt from spending cuts as flooding continues
