Further to my last post, Mike Stevens has kindly pointed out that there is an article (buried) in the IWA website. Here's a copy of the post I have just madet o the uk.rec.waterways newsgroup: Mike Stevens wrote:
Thanks Mike. Its a good and comprehensive article that contains the following justification for action to be early in the New Year: QUOTE There are two key decision points in government in the near future, where the impact of public opinion could make a difference. Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs ministers are due to make financial settlements for the next few years with the Treasury during the next few months. This will probably not happen until early 2007, but the weight of public opinion will need to be conveyed to ministers during the period September 2006 to Christmas so that they understand that cutting grant allocation to the navigation authorities would be very unpopular. The second decision point is when the Department’s ministers apportion the budget that it gets from the Treasury. This is likely to happen in spring 2007 and further lobbying will be required in the run up to it. ENDQUOTE Anyone that wants to read to whole IWA report can use the Tinyurl http://tinyurl.com/rqsak and scroll down to the para headed Grant-in-Aid cuts - British Waterways The article begs the question....if the weight of public opinion is so important, how come this IWA view isn't on the front of their website and why haven't we (members at least) been contacted to see how we can help generate awareness? Cheers.. Will Chapman nb Quidditch Will Chapman wrote: > 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 > > > > > > > > > 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/
