"Greenest Gov. Ever" Cuts UK Environment Agency Budget By 30% - Guardian

[hatrack]

The self-proclaimed "greenest government ever" today delivered some of its most vicious spending cuts to the environment. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) had its total budget cut by 30%, including the effect of inflation, considerably higher than the government average of 19%.

It means that Defra's budget will shrink from about £3bn this year by about £700m by the end of the four-year spending period, in 2015. As a result, the department and its delivery agencies, including the Environment Agency, which monitors pollution and protects against flooding, and Natural England, which helps look after the natural world, will shed 5,000-8,000 out of a total of 30,000 jobs.

Some £170m will be cut from in flood spending, and savings from cutting jobs, IT spending and other administration will grow to £174m by the final year of the spending review period. Other savings under consideration include selling off or giving away National Nature Reserves.

But Caroline Spelman, the environment secretary, rejected claims that the severity of the cuts made a mockery of the pledge by prime minister David Cameron. "That commitment to become the greenest government ever goes across all government departments," she said. "If you bring into the equation the green investment bank, the announcement by greens our households for the future, if you look at announcements on public transport... these are all ways together we're able to reduce our carbon footprint and give clear expression to our desire to be the greenest government ever."

EDIT

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/oct/20/spending-review-cuts-environment

[n2doc]

1. CONservatives Strike again.

Why anyone believes what comes out of their mouths is a mystery to me. They always, without fail, do exactly the same thing when in office- cut environmental and science funding, cut help for the poor, unemployed and disadvantaged, and jack up military spending and cut taxes on the rich (while ensuring that the poor pay more. Doesn't matter what country they are in.

[Dead_Parrot]

2. Sale 'ol same 'ol. Although...

...they have actually cut the military this time. And it looks like they managed to sneak a carbon tax in, which is cool...