Cuts Watch: Environment

Cuts Watch: Environment
A government that won’t back the solar power industry doesn’t have a growth strategy

18th March 2011 — Filed under: Cuts Watch: Environment, Economics

Philip Pearson

Next week, the government will launch its growth strategy. Today, the Energy Minister may have all but killed off thousands of jobs in the UK’s domestic solar power industry. It’s one of the best new growth industries we have. Before the announcement of the review, the Renewable Energy Association (REA) estimated that 17,000 new solar jobs would be created by the end of 2011. Not now it won’t. By delaying the deployment of new generation capacity the Government risks running Britain into the energy gap. Already the UK is forecast to have one of the lowest generation reserves in Europe. These are the details.

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Cuts Watch #371: U-turn on nature reserves

6th February 2011 — Filed under: Cuts Watch: Environment

Richard Exell

The Telegraph reports that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has given up plans (first leaked in August) to sell Natural England’s stake in the National Nature Reserves. The Department has been in discussion with large conservation groups, such as the Woodland Trust and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, which have been asked to take over the Reserves.

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Cuts Watch #349: Celebrities line up to Save Our Forests

23rd January 2011 — Filed under: Cuts Watch: Environment

Richard Exell

Dozens of famous and influential people have signed a letter to today’s Sunday Telegraph opposing the Public Authorities Bill, which “will authorise the Government to sell the whole of our public forest estate to commercial interests on the open market.” (Available here – scroll down to “Government must not sell our public forest”.)

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Cuts Watch: Environment
Cuts Watch #342: Snowman Huhne cuts Warm Front and jobs

6th January 2011 — Filed under: Cuts Watch: Environment

Philip Pearson

Nicely buried in winter snow, Energy Secretary Chris Huhne announced on 15 December 2010 that this year’s budget for Warm Front – the Government’s grant scheme in England to help vulnerable households – was “fully allocated”, and cut its budget by £500m (two-thirds). With the media focused on airport chaos, the decision triggered 700 redundancy notices at Newcastle firm Eaga, a leading contractor for home energy installations.

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Cuts Watch #334: DEFRA’s environmental agencies

21st December 2010 — Filed under: Cuts Watch: Environment

Richard Exell

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs plans to cuts spending on key environmental agencies by up to 21 per cent over the next four years. Today DEFRA published its Budget for its agencies and other arms length bodies and “indicative allocations for each of the remaining years of the Spending Review period.” The cuts include:

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Cuts Watch #313: park managers fear effect of cuts

16th November 2010 — Filed under: Cuts Watch: Environment

Richard Exell

Horticulture Week reports that “almost nine-tenths of park managers fear recent Government cuts will damage their green spaces.” Just under half thought that the cuts would be substantial and a third thought that the number of parks would fall, due to asset transfers. What will be especially depressing for those with memories of visiting neglected local authority parks in the Eighties is the fact that the managers feared that standards would fall, with maintenance lining up to be the main casualty. Other items likely to be at the sharp end include community involvement projects, floral displays, bowling greens and ornamental grass-cutting.

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Cuts Watch #312: Defending National Parks

15th November 2010 — Filed under: Cuts Watch: Environment

Richard Exell

In a letter to the Daily Telegraph, the Campaign for National Parks and the Ramblers’ Association have warned that the cuts facing the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) threaten the national parks. The signatories, who include Chris Bonnington, Ben Fogle and Janet Street-Porter, point out that the national parks cannot raise rates and their funding depends on Defra – which has to make some of the deepest cuts in Whitehall. The Campaign for National Parks is also running a campaign against the cuts, encouraging supporters to write to Richard Benyon, the National Parks Minister.

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Cuts Watch #310: Footpaths

12th November 2010 — Filed under: Cuts Watch: Environment

Richard Exell

The Ramblers’ Association and the Kennel Club have warned that many local authorities are planning to cut their Rights of Way budgets by fifty per cent – some plan to get rid of the Rights of Way teams altogether. They warn that:

Such drastic cuts to Rights of Way departments will lead to footpaths becoming unwalkable, making the simple British tradition of a stroll with the dog an obstacle course rather than a pleasure.

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Cuts Watch #307: Street Lights

10th November 2010 — Filed under: Cuts Watch: Environment

Richard Exell

Tonight’s Newsnight will report that many local authorities are cutting spending on street lighting; some are switching lights off, others are dimming them. The programme contacted 75 Councils: 32 plan to turn some lights off, 9 are dimming them and 14 are considering cutting street lighting.

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Cuts Watch #304: The Forestry Commission

9th November 2010 — Filed under: Cuts Watch: Environment

Nicola Smith

Last week the Government confirmed that it is proposing to privatise the Forestry Commission’s estate, a plan that PCS have stated will deny future generations access to our woodlands and forests. The plans are not just opposed by unions. An online petition calling on the Government to re-think its plans and ‘Save Our Forests’ has now gained over 58,000 signatures.

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Cuts Watch: Environment

A government that won’t back the solar power industry doesn’t have a growth strategy

Cuts Watch #371: U-turn on nature reserves

Cuts Watch #349: Celebrities line up to Save Our Forests

Cuts Watch #342: Snowman Huhne cuts Warm Front and jobs

Cuts Watch #334: DEFRA’s environmental agencies

Cuts Watch #313: park managers fear effect of cuts

Cuts Watch #312: Defending National Parks

Cuts Watch #310: Footpaths

Cuts Watch #307: Street Lights

Cuts Watch #304: The Forestry Commission

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