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AS EXPECTED government have announced funding for the Canal & River Trust, writes Allan Richards. And as expected it's a stitch up!
As suggested, the agreement is now over 15 years. The headline figure is £800m which is closer to the £600m 'stitch up' figure we gave and substantially less than the £1,300m 'salvation' figure (Salvation or stitch up? 31/1/2011).
Not all gloom and doom
However, it is not quite all gloom and doom as Canal & River Trust will be getting extra money on top of the £39m indicative funding and for a longer period.
The elements of the funding package are quite complex.
The original £39m per year for 10 years now becomes £39m for 15 years and will be indexed linked to inflation.
Based on network condition
From 2015/16, Canal & River Trust will receive an additional grant of £10m a year. However, this will be tapered off over the last five years of the agreement, and be tied to performance measures based on the condition of the network.
Canal & River Trust will also get a one-off grant of £25m spread over the next few months. No reason has been given for this payment.
Finally, government has given a 'last resort' guarantee with regard to British Waterways' pension scheme but no money.
The bottom line
The bottom line is that the settlement, which equates to about £53m per year, is much better than governments original offer. However it is nowhere near the £80-90m needed.
Sadly we have been sold down the cut! |
