There are a number of grants available for homeowners and businesses which have suffered damage in the recent floods.

 Repair and Renew grant for all affected homeowners and businesses

 The £5,000 grant will provide financial support for households and businesses to pay for repairs which improve a property's ability to withstand future flooding.

Business Support Scheme

A new Business Support Scheme worth up to £10million to provide hardship funding for SME businesses in areas affected by the floods. Both businesses that have been flooded, and businesses that are in affected areas and have suffered significant loss of trade, will be able to apply for support. Eligible businesses will be able to claim for funding for things like immediate clean-up costs, materials, and exceptional costs to help them continue trading.

- Extra time for businesses to file accounts without any penalties. If any affected company is unable to file accounts or other documents on time as a direct result of the floods, Companies House will agree an extension and not collect the penalties which apply for late filings.

- A Government Business Support Helpline is providing comprehensive advice and support to businesses affected by floods. The Helpline will offer a free 1 hour call with a dedicated Business Support Adviser to help businesses get back on their feet. The helpline number is 0300 456 3565 and can take calls from flood affected businesses now;

Fund for farmers suffering water-logged fields

The government will make available up to £10 million for a one-off grant scheme designed to support farm businesses to restore flooded agricultural land and bring it back into production as quickly as possible

 The fund will also help farmers introduce lasting and sustainable flood prevention measures to help secure future production once land is restored · The fund will be open for applications by the end of February - we will keep the application window open for as long as possible given uncertainty around flood water levels receding

The scheme will be open to all farm businesses that require support but will be targeted at those areas most affected by the flood crisis

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) will announce further details and a single point of contact (for email, post and telephone) shortly.

Business taxes

All affected businesses will be able to apply to their local authority to get business rate relief for 3 months

Further detail will be announced shortly on the application process and eligibility

HMRC will also set up a new hotline for those who have been affected by flooding and may have difficulties in meeting their tax liabilities · in all cases HMRC will look to offer up to 3 months additional time to pay

This will cover all taxes owed to HMRC, including VAT, PAYE and corporation tax.

Support from the major banks

A total commitment in excess of £750 million from the major banks to provide financial support to business and individual customers affected by the floods.
The packages include a mixture of repayment holidays, reduced or waived fees, loan extensions, increased flexibility of terms, and additional specialist support teams deployed on the ground. This support is being made available to businesses, farmers and individual customers in affected areas.

The packages include a mixture of repayment holidays, reduced or waived fees, loan extensions, increased flexibility of terms, and additional specialist support teams deployed on the ground. This support is being made available to businesses, farmers and individual customers in affected areas.

•RBS have already announced a £250 million interest free loan fund for affected businesses, and have extended this with an offer of repayment holidays for mortgage customers.

•Lloyds and Barclays haveannounced financial packages of around £250 million each.

•HSBC, Santander and Nationwide have also announced extensive programmes of support for their affected business and individual customers

Bellwin Scheme

The scheme has been strengthened in response to the exceptional circumstances caused by the 2013 to 2014 winter's flooding. The government will now pay 100% of the costs incurred above the threshold, rather than the usual 85%. The threshold has been reduced for all county councils and unitary authorities to make it easier for them to claim Bellwin support. A large proportion of those Bellwin payments are to be made available now, rather than waiting until the situation has cleared up before local authorities can make those claims. This means that local authorities will have access to the cash they need right now to deal with the pressing problems caused by the weather.