divert foreign aid to flood-hit British families

I'm not signing either,those people in foreign countries have to undergo undiscribable conditions every day of their lives and deserve all the help they can get from foreign aid and I'm glad our Country is in a position to help them.We all pay taxes one way or another and reap the rewards by having services which are some of the best in the world,service's these poor countries can only dream about.

Sorry, but I cannot understand your mindset, ninny. Most foreign aid goes to people who stand to lose everything, and do not have enough money to have anything other than a tinshack to live in, let alone consider insurance.

I can't understand the mindset of some of you on here, why shouldn't some of this foreign aid be diverted to deal with the pressing problems of our own citizens, most of them will have worked all their life and paid taxes. Most of these people will be struggling, a lady on the radio said she was under insured and didn't know what she was going to do.

People are always quick to complain about cuts to UK services, whilst defending giving money away overseas.

Not signing either

Families have lived in some of these areas for generations, so I don't think we can say 'shouldn't live on a flood plain then'. This is truly exceptional, but locals in many areas have been telling the 'experts' what needs to be done for a long time.

A stitch in time saves nine is a good adage, and now the government will have to find far more money than they would have spent in prevention and it will cost the economy billions.

No signing from me either. Blaming people for living in areas reclaimed from the sea, be they Somerset levels or the Fens is harsh, I agree. And yet when we were looking for a move after we retired, we looked at areas along rivers and in the Broads, Norfolk- and thought, yes it looks wonderful now, but what if (floods)- and decided against just in case. I knew about the Fens being lower than sea level and reclaimed from the sea, but had not idea it was the same for Somerset Levels. I really hope things will improve very soon.

They can dig into the war chest or divert tax payers money from other wasteful budgets. When UK citizens start getting cholera or have to drink dirty water that can't be filtered through our sophisticated water systems, I'll begin to think about whether we need to retain any of the foreign aid budget.

They must have a contingency fund for emergencies? Did the aid for foreign disasters come out of the foreign aid budget or from an emergency fund?

They can find it if they want to, then they will have to re-assess budgets for future flood defence work.

nigglynellie However bad that corruption might be, at least if some of the money gets through it could save lives and assist the poorest nations to get better resources. Your can probably bet that there are of some political gain.

This is not proportionately that much money.

"The UK has committed to meeting an international target to contribute 0.7% of gross national income (GNI) to development aid annually from 2013."

www.ifs.org.uk/budgets/gb2012/12chap7.pdf

I won't be signing this either.

I find it hard to believe that some people blame those who "choose" to live in areas that are likely to flood. I really dislike what feels like an increasing tendency to put blame on individuals whenever stuff happens.

I do feel we can criticise successive governments who have failed to act preventatively. Soutra makes an excellent point about offers from the Netherlands to give us advice. Will the money be found? Cuts, cuts and more cuts just don't help do they.

Thank you nigglynellie we live on a flood plain because that's all we could afford and it is regarded as the cheaper part of town. Having allowed the houses to be built the Councils should ensure the residents are safe. They are quick enough to take our council tax.

I can see how people feel about foreign aid and I don't think anybody would have an issue with any of it except that I and others do feel that a lot of aid gets 'lost'(?) in transit, and even when it gets to the country of intention, so often it goes straight into the wrong hands, whether it's food or money. After all these years it seems very sad and odd that there are still desperately poor people living in countries governed by an enormously rich elite; I think that speaks for itself and explains why people feel the way they do. As for people being rubbished for living near rivers, on the levels and fens, what a load of tripe that is - I can assure you that not everyone who lives near water is wealthy or is in anyway to blame for living where they do/work or the situation they find themselves in and are actually worthy of help too.

I won't be signing anything either -typical DM. However we vould listen to countries with experience of flood defences and land drainage such as the Netherlands instead of bleating "oh climate change - can't be helped". There have been offers of help and advce from either Holland or Belgium and quotes for drainage works and sluice maintenance coming in cheaper than the prophets of doom at the Environment Agency.

I won't be signing either but I don't think it's fair to suggest that people should have more sense than to live on a flood plain. Settlements that have evolved over centuries had to learn how to deal with flooding. It didn't stop them from settling on rich, fertile, productive land close to irrigation. As our climate has been changing, modern developers should have had more sense than to continue to build on flood plains without improving flood defences or not build there at all. You can't dismiss the inhabitation of areas like Marlow as foolishness.

This is a huge wake up call for the government and the EA. We are an island and the water above and around us can't be controlled but there is no reason why it can't be better managed.

No - I won't sign this.

There are contingency funds for these flood problems and the money should come out of that budget.

I am proud that GB donates to third world countries in trouble, but do also agree that the way this money is spent should be rigorously monitored and targeted.

We could also take a lesson from that blighted country. The Ganges of course starts in the Himalayas and decades ago India de-forested the foothills ensuring thereby that the water was not "stored" and gradually released but rushed on down without prevention thus ensuring major floods. Something we should take serious note of and consider whether reforesting our hills would help. Bet it would

Me neither! What a daft idea!
We are a rich country, our losses to property come in as very expensive because we have so many expensive possessions.

Bang up the income tax to pay for more flood prevention.

You cannot blame anyone for this problem. The amount of rain falling in the last few months is unprecedented.

Think Bangaldesh! That very poor country is one big flood plain. It takes the water from the Ganges and the Brahmaputra in the Monsoons and the spring thaws from the Himalayas. In Bangladesh there is little high ground to escape to.
The frequent floods mean that lives and poor people's livelihoods are frequently destroyed. They die and homes are washed away completely.

They have frequent flood disasters, we occasionally have big inconveniences caused by property damage.

Loss of life in the UK to the current floods has largely been down to people ignoring advice not to venture into fast flowing flood water or seaside storm waves. We have been having severe weather warnings for weeks on end.

I do feel sorry for those people affected but a real disaster it is not.

You are right "rosesarered" it is indeed a political decision, money in = money back is the hope in these cases.

This is a much more complex problem than shifting money from one pot to another, but that's not why I won't be signing. I fundamentally disagree with the 'either or' premise. The way in which the UK focuses aid money should certainly be examined, but the principle of giving aid to countries is sound.

Good point Galen I agree with that, but think it's a diplomacy thing with some countries, more than needing aid.Britain still has enough money in the bank to help people in flooded areas, if the will is there.

I agree Galen, China also.

I won't sign. But. I do find it wrong that we give money to India who are financing space and nuclear technology.

Much sympathy for those affected by the floods, but they choose to live in these areas though, Little point in me complaining about snow when I choose to live on a Welsh mountain .

I most certainly will not sign

Nor me...
No matter how difficult things are for people in this country, - and I do
have deep sympathy for them, truly, it is a drop in the ocean (please excuse unintended pun!) when compared to the suffering of thousands of starving and homeless people around the world in places of conflict or climate problems.

Jingoistic nonsense, I won't be signing either!
I hasten to add that I do feel so sorry for the many people affected by floods wherever they live.