Manx Utilities has spent £1.3m on flood prevention since 2015.

The figure was revealed by chairman Dr Alex Allinson in Tynwald last week.

Following the devastating flood in Laxey earlier this month, both the MUA and the government have been criticised for not doing enough to cut risks, particularly as Laxey was badly hit by floods as recently as 2015.

Dr Allinson (Ramsey) said: ’Following the flood events of December 2015, Manx Utilities have sought to ensure its flood risk management budget has been spent in full with contracted works for the last three years totalling £1.3m against the budget of £1.2m.

’Invariably budgets set a target for expenditure but planned activities can occur more quickly or slowly than anticipated at the time the budget was determined.

’But total expenditure of the last three years has exceeded the total budget - principally due to the need to request consultancy advice to ensure activities are properly targeted.’

He was replying to a question about how much had been spent on river maintenance, tabled by Julie Edge (Onchan).

Manx Utilities receives a £500,000 Treasury grant annually for flood risk management. Gross expenditure budgets for the five years from 2014-15, when it was still the Water and Sewage Authority, to 2018-19 have ranged between £530,000 and £703,000 per year.

Dr Allinson said the three main elements of expenditure were physical maintenance and improvement schemes, consultancy costs for modelling and design works and in-house staffing costs for planning and supervising the outsourced activities.

He said: ’The majority of budgetary costs in each year relate to the contracted works which have ranged between £380,000 and £462,000 per year.

’The budgeted amounts for these works for 2018-19 and 2019-20 were £400,000 for each year.’

Consultancy costs have averaged £74,000 per year since 2013-14, while staffing costs have varied from £103,000 to £198,000 per year.

Dr Allinson added: ’The gross expenditure budget for 2014-15 was £584,000 and for 2019-20 was £761,000. For the current year this includes £400,000 for contracted works, £150,000 for consultancy; and £198,000 of staffing costs.’

Commenting on the increase in staffing costs, Ms Edge said: ’I am hopeful that is for frontline services to make sure we have got the maintenance of our rivers.’

An independent review has been ordered into the circumstances that led to the Laxey flood at the start of the month.

The Laxey river burst it banks, flooding a number of homes in Glen Road.

Villagers claim there was a failure to heed warnings, while also arguing work being carried out on the river may have contributed to the devastation.