Worst time for the trust to negotiate a financial settlement

Published: Thursday, 07 April 2022

COULD there possibly be a worse time for Canal & River Trust to negotiate a financial settlement with DEFRA and the Treasury? Asks NABO.

But they are trying, and it is time for us to press our MPs to support CRT, despite our concerns about the organisation. Please write to your MP. NABO has prepared a draft letter to send to your MP. Please take time to personalise it and send it off in the next week or two. It will make a difference.

Suggested template:

I am writing to you as a resident of your constituency to make you aware of my concerns about the future of the Canal & River Trust (the Trust) as the guardian of the historic canals in England and Wales.

The Trust was established in 2012 and took over the duties and liabilities of British Waterways in England and Wales under a 15 year grant agreement. This agreement is currently under review by DEFRA and the Treasury with a view to extending the grant. Discussions are taking place now to finalise a proposal by the middle of this year. The future of the UK’s unique and historic canal system is dependent on the outcome of these discussions.

The establishment of the Trust was a flagship event of the Government of the day within the policy of the Big Society. The Trust has come a long way in ten years and continues to promote the use of the waterways as an asset for all but the Trust is not yet at the point where it can be independent of Government funding.

I would very much like you to indicate your support for the Trust and the work they do, with Rebecca Pow MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Water, Forestry, Rural Affairs and Resource Management and the Chancellor of the Exchequer.