Calls from Oxfordshire councils for the Government to make good a £3.3m shortfall caused by last summer's floods have fallen on deaf ears, according to the council leader. The leaders of all six councils in Oxfordshire joined forces and wrote to communities secretary, Hazel Blears, and environment secretary, Hilary Benn, asking for extra funding. ‘We recently received a response from Ms Blears,' said Oxfordshire CC leader, Keith Mitchell. ‘It did not come with a cheque or the promise of a cheque. Quite the reverse.' The Local Government Association has called for the timetable for investment in flood defences to be brought forward, in order to avoid a repeat of the problems last summer.
