 More
Cuts Proposed
IWA is reliably informed that ministers are to be presented with
a package for £130 million of immediate cuts to the Department
for Environment Food and Rural Affairs’ budget with radical
options for another £140 million of savings. This would affect
all DEFRA-funded bodies, including British Waterways and the
Environment Agency and would be in addition to 5% year-on-year
cuts already reported. British Waterways is allegedly at the top
of the list for further cuts to its funding.
We are fully aware that British Waterways and the Environment
Agency have not recovered from their share of the £200m cuts to
funding imposed by the Treasury last year after DEFRA mismanaged
payments to farmers following a reform of agricultural
subsidies.
Impact on Waterways
The waterways community now faces more
budgetary cuts of an unknown nature, in addition to the £5
million known budget deficit, a 33% or more licence increase, a
trebling of fuel costs, 200 plus waterway job cuts, and
indeterminate maintenance cuts.
British Waterways has additionally been hard
hit by this summer’s flooding and the breach in the Brecon and
Abergavenny Canal - a total additional cost of over £10 million.
Other navigation authorities have also suffered considerable
losses.
IWA Campaign
IWA believes that the Treasury should be
allocating additional funds to waterway managers to cope with
these flooding disasters which were outside their control. IWA
additionally maintains that the Government’s decision to reduce
waterways funding to help pay for the additional costs of the
outbreaks of Foot and Mouth Disease, Blue Tongue Disease and
Bird ‘Flu is not just unfair, but grossly unreasonable and
should be reversed before further damage is done.
IWA is currently seeking an urgent meeting
with the minister to discuss the possibility of an application
for funding from the Contingency Fund; however, waterway users
need to show their concern now by writing to their MP and
raising the alarm before it is too late.
It is clear that the situation would have been
even worse if it had not been for the campaigning and lobbying
already undertaken. That work has been very effective and IWA is
grateful for the support members have received from many MPs and
welcomes their resolve to resist these prospective cuts. We need
to continue lobbying MPs and make them aware of the threat that
these proposed budget cuts pose .
Can You Help?
I am asking you to spare some time to write to
your MP this week and inform them of the situation. Important
funding decisions are being made by the Treasury and DEFRA in
the next four weeks. To delay raising concerns over the cuts and
the latest funding proposals could allow the proposals to become
consolidated before MPs have a chance to lobby ministers.
IWA is concerned that substantial budget cuts
to British Waterways would raise the likelihood of closure of
canals due to an inability to fund routine maintenance and
safety requirements risking the type of breach such as that
recently seen on the Brecon and Abergavenny Canal.
It may feel like our backs are against the
wall, but now is not the time to surrender and accept these cuts
as either necessary or a given.
Your voice counts – please write to your MP
today!
Please pass this message on to anyone else you
think may wish to write to their MP and help the waterways.
You can find the name of your local MP by
going to:
http://www.writetothem.com/
Thank you for your time.
Kindest regards,
Jo Gilbertson
Campaign Coordinator |
