This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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More work to prevent flooding
21/04/2005
An expert group set up to tackle the threat of flooding in Scotland met for the first time today.
The Flooding Issues Advisory Committee (FIAC) has been established to advise the Executive on implementing the National Flooding Framework.
The Committee will provide advice on flood risk management issues and will assist in the ongoing development of policy in this area.
It will consider a report on natural flood storage which was also published today. The report concludes that natural flood storage will provide a valuable additional response to reducing flood risk.
Deputy Environment Minister Lewis Macdonald welcomed the first meeting of the group. He said:
"The Scottish Executive is committed to protecting vulnerable communities from the risk of flooding.
"I look forward to working with the Committee in order to determine the best ways of alleviating flood risk for communities the length and breadth of Scotland."
FIAC will have a fixed lifespan of two years and sub-committees will also be set up to look at specific areas of flooding. The Executive will make a final report to Ministers on the work of the Committee by June 2007.
FIAC is made up of a range of stakeholders to represent the wider flooding community including representatives from central and local government, Scottish Natural Heritage, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Scottish Water, Local Authorities, relevant professional bodies, the Association of British Insurers, The Forestry Commission, Agriculture/Land use, academia, Environmental Non-Government Organisations, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Environment Agency, developers, people who have experienced flooding and others.