Defras budget cut by 162 million

This is just the first step towards creating better public services, a stronger economy and a fairer society

 
Chancellor George Osborne

The department, which leads on waste and recycling policy, funds the Waste & Resources Action Programme and Environment Agency and also runs awareness campaigns relating to waste reduction and recycling. It is also responsible for the Waste Infrastructure Delivery Programme (WIDP).

Speaking in London this morning, Mr Osborne and David Laws, chief secretary to the Treasury, unveiled a raft of proposals to help tackle the current budget deficit, which is said to stand at around £156 billion.

Mr Osborne said: “This is just the first step towards creating better public services, a stronger economy and a fairer society. This is the first time this Government has announced difficult decisions on spending.

“It will not be the last. But I want people to know in the years ahead that we do this not for its own sake but in order to improve the quality of people's lives and build a better economic future. We inherited an economic mess, but we can come out of it stronger.”

Savings 

In its details for savings, the Treasury identified a need to find £1.167 billion worth of savings from local authorities and claimed that, while cutting was necessary, it would safeguard “the quality of our frontline services.”

Breaking down planned savings to be drawn from government departments, the Treasury identified that £162 million in savings would be drawn from Defra and £85 million from the budget of the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) – which equates to 6.5% of its overall budget of £1.4 billion.

A statement released by Defra said that it would introduce the following “in-year efficiencies” to achieve the savings:

• limiting recruitment and reducing the number of non-permanent staff;
• operational savings in IT, estates and procurement;
• a reduction in funding for Regional Development Agencies;
• efficiencies in flood management while maintaining an increase in expenditure; and
• savings within the delivery of selected programmes.

In addition to cuts from specific departments, Mr Laws said that there would be £600 million of cost cutting from quangos. Whether this will affect bodies such as WRAP is as yet unclear.

The Treasury is also currently undertaking a review to re-examine spending approvals made since January 1 2010 under the previous government to see if they are “consistent with the [coalition] government's priorities of good value for money”.

One waste project that could potentially be affected, is the the North London Waste Authority waste treatment contract, which received £258 million in PFI funding in March this year (see letsrecycle.com story).

And, while it had been anticipated that regional development agencies may have been adversely affected by the announcement, Mr Laws said: “Regional development agencies will have to cut back on spending which has the lowest economic impact.”

The largest cuts were made in the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, which has to find £836 million worth of savings, and the Department of Communities and Local Government, which is faced with £780 million.

Chancellor George Osborne also explained that more information would be made available with the publication of an emergency budget on June 22 and the completion of a spending review, which is set to take place in the autumn of this year.