Bellwin scheme

The Bellwin scheme is a United Kingdom government emergency financial assistance which "reimburses local authorities for costs incurred on, or in connection with, their immediate actions to safeguard life and property or to prevent suffering or severe inconvenience as a result of a disaster or emergency in their area".

[3][better source needed] The scheme is named after a 1980s environment minister, Lord Bellwin, who, as Irwin Bellow had been leader of Leeds City Council from 1975 to 1979.

In 1983, Bellwin introduced the compensation scheme, which was incorporated in the Local Government and Housing Act 1989[4] and revised in 2014.

[5] A Bellwin scheme may be activated, at the discretion of the environment secretary, Councils, police, fire and national park authorities are eligible for Bellwin reimbursement when they have spent more than the usual threshold 0.2% of their calculated annual revenue budget on works which meet the above criteria that have been reported to the Department as eligible for an announced grant scheme.

He also announced that a full review of the Bellwin scheme was also to be undertaken, with a view to future reform.