Flood-hit tenants and businesses to receive Scottish government aid

Hundreds of householders and tenants affected by Storm Babet will receive grants of £1,500 as part of a Scottish government funding package.

Businesses that can prove their trade was severely impacted by storm-related flooding will be given £3,000.

The funding will be given to councils in affected areas to allocate to the tenants and businesses.

The grants were agreed during the first formal meeting of the Storm Babet Ministerial Taskforce.

Cabinet Secretary Mairi McAllan MSP said: "Given the unprecedented scale of damage and impact caused by Storm Babet we have concluded that additional funding is required to support households and businesses."

Ms McAllan said the new grants were in addition to the Scottish government's annual funding for flood risk management and coastal change adaptation over the course of this parliament.

She added the funding sat alongside the Bellwin Scheme, a discretionary fund to help councils facing extra costs as a result of large-scale emergencies, as well as the Scottish Welfare Fund, and additional funds to farming businesses and organisations.

Seven local authorities - Aberdeenshire, Angus, Perth and Kinross, Fife, South Lanarkshire, Highland, and Moray - have notified the Scottish government of a potential claim under the Bellwin scheme.

Brechin in Angus was one of the areas worst-affected by flooding with dozens of residents evacuated from their homes.

Angus Council leader Beth Whiteside said: "We welcome these discussions with ministers and have the reassurance that they are fully aware of the scale of impact across Angus.

"Recovery will be a lengthy process as we support people and communities to rebuild their lives and businesses from the unprecedented flooding.

"We will need ongoing support for years to come to rebuild our infrastructure and take action to protect Angus from such devastating flooding in the future."

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution said it will pay out a total of £64,960 in statutory compensation to 212 customers as a result of Storm Babet.

It said 203 of those customers were in Brechin and will be paid a total of £63,640.

Storm Babet was classed as a "Category 2 event" under Ofgem rules.

A spokesman for the firm said: "Statutory compensation is only paid out after 48 hours, but we offer hot food and in some cases accommodation to people who have been without power for less than two days."

SSEN added that cheques had been printed for affected customers.

The spokesman said: "As many of the people receiving this in Brechin are still out of their properties owing to flood damage, we're using the contact details we have to get in touch with them, and we'll be on the ground in Brechin in the coming days hand-delivering as many as we can."