Further to my earlier post I did a bit of internet surfing and found an interesting article on the RYA website
http://tinyurl.com/ghfcj (which makes me wonder why I couldn't find anything similar on the IWA site) The article makes the point that the Environment Agency has also taken cuts...AND already decided to pass them on to boaters in the form of a near 50% increase in boating license fees. RYA goes on to commend BW for resisting similar action. What really made my eyes open was the clarification that all of these cuts are due to DEFRA making a bollox of agricultural funding payments: QUOTE The cut to BW's budget has been made by Defra in response to an increase in payments to farmers and additional civil servants to deal with agricultural payments. A European fine may also be applied to the British Government for failing to make a sufficient proportion of its agricultural subsidy payments to UK farmers on time under a new system introduced this year. ENDQUOTE This is ridiculous. As I pointed out in another recent post, the actual cost of BW funding is a fraction of a percent (0.3%) of the total revenue from Council Tax funding (20 billion). We could cover all of BW's funding with the equivalent of £2.50 per household per annum. As long as BW and EA funding is mixed in with sensitive funding issues like agriculture and fisheries and their lobbies it is going to get the short straw. I'm in the mood for a big national demonstration of the order of the one the truckers ran and I've heard on the grapevine that such things are being planned but I see no mention of any such activities on the most obvious website...BW, IWA, RBOA, NABO etc. All I've found that even mentions DEFRA is the RYA site. The essence of what I've picked up is that demonstrations are being planned for the period just after the end of the London Boat Show (when the above key bodies will be in attendance). Perhaps we need to take the bull by the horns and organise our own action in the form of locally focused protests. For example, we could identify key locations that good numbers of us could reach to support whatever is being planned centrally. As the boat show ends on the weekend of Jan 14th that sounds as good a target date as any although boat movement would be restricted by the Winter Stoppages. Any volunteers out there that would be willing to help coordinate a canal protest in their area? In addition to boat rallies it would also make sense to start getting signatures on petitions and encouraging anyone with any interest in the canals to write to their MPs and responsible Ministers. I'd be happy to keep track of any volunteers and act as central clearing house. Let's show Govt how important canals can reduce votes. Cheers.... Will Chapman nb Quidditch - all fired up! Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/canals-list/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/canals-list/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
