Storm Callum: Carwyn Jones questions need for flooding fund
The first minister has questioned the need for an emergency relief fund after parts of Wales were hit by flooding in Storm Callum.
Carmarthenshire council has pledged £300,000 to help with flood recovery, but Carwyn Jones did not confirm Welsh ministers would offer extra support. Council leader Emlyn Dole said the floods should be a "wake-up call" to the Welsh Government over council cuts. Hundreds of businesses suffered damage from the flooding over the weekend. Carmarthenshire is currently the only local authority in Wales to have set up a fund, but Mr Jones suggested the Welsh Government would not be providing a countrywide service, saying: "It's their choice if they want to compensate people." He added: "But some might say perhaps that money should go into flood defences. That's a matter for them, it's their choice what they want to do with the money." But Mr Dole said it was "the least of his concerns" who should pay the bill, as long as money is put in place for the clean-up. He told BBC Wales: "The first thing I did when I got in on Monday was to say we need to be offering support to homes and businesses - some of whom are not able to get insurance and have been completely decimated by the floods. "Their need was obvious to all." Mr Dole said the local authority was also facing pressure from austerity and is "looking at having to find in real terms around £9m next year to balance the books" due to further cuts. He added: "What has happened is a tragedy and it is a bit of a wake-up call to Welsh Government in that you just can't keep cutting local government funding because you're endangering people's lives by doing it." The first minister was visiting Llechryd in Ceredigion, which was also badly hit by the floods, with 79 properties damaged. However, Ellen ap Gwynn, leader of Ceredigion council, said she had been advised the local authority could not give public money to people, only voluntary contributions. Delyth Jones, who lives in Llechryd, had to rescue her mother on a tractor after her home opposite the bridge was hit by eight feet of flood water. "This is the third time Llechryd has been flooded and this is the worst it's ever been," she said "The flood defences didn't work. It came up through the floors and the sewers." Mr Jones said he was "surprised to see how far the river had reached" in Llechryd, and said the priority would be to see what projects could be done to control the flow of the river. He added the Welsh Government had invested hundreds of millions into flood defences.