DEFRA outlines £45m budget cuts following £200million overspend
UK - DEFRA has outlined the first wave of 2006-07 budget cuts following a £200 million overspend this year, partly blamed on bird flu precautions and the single farm payment fiasco.
25 October 2006
1 minute read
In the planned £45 million cuts set out by biodiversity minister Barry Gardiner yesterday (24 October), the Environment Agency and Natural England will lose most (in terms of £ million), but British Waterways and the State Veterinary Service will also have their budgets cut by £3million or more (see table).
“The full impact of the mess caused by the Rural Payment Agency has been put into context by these figures,” said Allan Buckwell, chief economist at the Country Land and Business Association.
“The Government have suggested that the majority of the overspend is due to accountancy rule changes, yet figures from the recently published report from the National Audit Office, suggest that £177.5 million may be attributed to the RPA mess.”
Source: fwi.co.uk
