YORK MP Hugh Bayley has called for controversial proposals to impose a "poll tax" on households which suffer flooding to be scrapped.

Speaking in a Westminster debate, he dismissed the plans for areas which need new flood defences to pay for the work themselves through a special precept as "absurd".

Mr Bayley insisted the burden should continue to be spread across the whole of the region - not just householders in places such as York and Selby, who live downstream who already suffer the agony of flooding.

The idea was raised by independent consultants two weeks ago in a document published by Floods Minister Elliot Morley.

The consultants said the "flood tax" was one way of bridging the gap between the cash which needed to be spent on defence work, and the grant provided by the Government.

Mr Bayley yesterday told a debate on Flood Protection and Planning in Yorkshire: "The document has made a lot of good proposals - but the independent consultants have also made one truly dreadful one.

"The idea of a poll tax for flood victims should be thrown out. A river is a drainage system.

"It drains water, and therefore reduces the risk of flooding for people living in catchment areas.

"It is absurd and unjust for consultants to propose that the river should provide drainage for people living upstream, but - when it is full and overflows - the victims of that good drainage upstream should have to pick up the bill.

"We must not play one community off against another. Drainage is something we share - we must all share the cost."

An alternative to the flood tax is allowing Regional Customer Bodies - which would replace regional Flood Defence Committees - to levy a precept on households across the region to pay for flood defences.

The new body would only have to win support for the levy from a majority of its membership, which would be made up of councillors from across the region.

At present, a single member has the right of veto.

Mr Bayley told MPs this would prevent a repeat of problems experienced in North Yorkshire, where areas not hit by flooding have blocked spending plans which would have benefited the county.

Mr Morley insisted there were two sides to the argument over whether people who had already suffered the misery of flooding pay.

Launching the document, he said: "Some people argue that surely the cost should be spread across a whole region because it lowers the overall charge. But others are arguing those people who are most at risk will get the main benefit and maybe they ought to pay the bulk of the contribution. That is why we are having this consultation."

Mr Morley later hinted the Government was ready to drop the flood tax. He told MPs: "Among the ideas that have been suggested that is the one I am less enthusiastic about, speaking from a personal point of view.

"I think it is right we have an open debate about the best way of raising funds. We have no fixed position on these particular proposals.

"We will wait for responses and listen to them very carefully and respond in due course."

He added: "I quite accept some of the ideas are more attractive than others."

Updated: 11:43 Thursday, February 28, 2002