On 22/02/07, Richard Fairhurst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > David Cragg wrote: > This is a popular misconception, I think. BW has been part of > the Department for the Environment since at least the 70s, > passing in due course to Prescott's DETR and then to DEFRA. > > Richard >
And Defra was set up because the old MAFF was considered to be too close to the farming and agribusiness lobby. There are still shades of this today when it seems DEFRA officials failed to tell ministers about everything that was happening at Bernard Matthew's turkey factories. Putting in wider environmental interests would break the producer interest was the idea. And in some ways it has worked. But as we know to our cost it has a big downside too, which is why moving BW makes sense (although as it would be hard to move the EA you would end up with split responsibilities for navigation). However, as I have argued before here, it would make much more sense for BW to go to Local Government and Communities where its regeneration role is likely to get a more sympathetic hearing than from Transport. -- Nigel Stanley
