The future of British Waterways - Advantages
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There are several advantages in bringing the two largest navigation authorities together. The new third sector body would become overwhelmingly dominant in the development of waterways policy; the Environment Agency navigations would be freed from the political, financial and commercial restrictions that apply to a Non-Departmental Public Body; some financial savings could be expected to be made in administrative and staffing costs.
On the other hand the drawbacks of widening the scope of the third sector proposal need to be considered. The problems involve a mixture of financial and political issues.
Thames boaters to oppose amalgamation
The largest navigation operated by the Environment Agency is the non-tidal River Thames above Teddington. The service standards provided to users, including the staffing of all locks, are higher than the service standards on the BW navigations. Thames boating organisations are apprehensive that an amalgamation could lead to a reduction in the high service standards that they currently enjoy. The Thames boaters have decided to oppose an amalgamation unless guarantees are given that service standards are maintained.
In practice any reduction in perceived service standards on the Thames would be difficult to accomplish. An attempt by the Environment Agency in 2008 to reduce the number of residential lock keepers on the Thames was strongly opposed by users and by a group of local MPs led by Theresa May MP and Martin Salter MP. The Environment Agency eventually withdrew the proposals and gave an undertaking that in future all the locks would be staffed by residential lock keepers.
Higher standards higher cost
An amalgamation would therefore mean that the third sector body would take over a high standard, high cost operation with little opportunity to make cost savings in the foreseeable future. The Environment Agency is able to sustain the operation because its Flood Risk Management budget meets the cost of the Thames weirs, on the basis that the weirs have a significant role in flood defence. The new third sector body is unlikely to have access to this budget and will either have to fund the whole operation out of its normal revenue or will have to negotiate some arrangement for control and funding of the weirs with the Environment Agency.
Some observers might expect that the new third sector body would fund at least part of the Thames operation by internal savings resulting from the merger of BW and Environment Agency navigations. However, BW and Environment Agency navigations operate in different parts of the country with little overlap and duplication in staffing.
Modest saving
In other circumstances an expansion in the size of an organisation might be expected to lead to a proportionate lowering of head office costs, but in this instance the Environment Agency navigations are already part of a large organisation and relatively low head office costs are borne by the navigations. IWAC's conclusion is that some savings will be available but they will probably be modest.
One of IWAC's responsibilities is to act as a conduit through which the views of waterway users are conveyed to the UK Government. Our understanding is that most waterway organisations support a merger of BW and the Environment Agency navigations at some stage. However IWAC understands that the Thames boaters are strongly against an early amalgamation and many representatives of other waterway organisations are anxious that attempting to accomplish the merger at the same time as BW moves into the third sector might well overload the management of the new organisation and lead to an extended period of uncertainty and confusion.