WRAP braced for Defra review

The government has revealed that it is in discussions over a review of the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), which is likely to determine the future of funding and the focus of the waste sector body.

A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which provides funding for WRAP, told letsrecycle.com that talks are currently taking place about when the formal review process will begin.

Defra is one of four government bodies which funds WRAP alongside the Welsh Government, Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Assembly.

The Departments review of the body forms part of a wider assessment of government funded programmes to ensure that they are achieving the outcomes they were established to achieve.

This is in line with the governments Spending Review, in which it has pledged to cut around 661 million from its budget by 2014/15.

Speaking to letsrecycle.com, a spokesperson for Defra said that the review would seek to determine if WRAP is providing value for money for the services it provides.

He said: We havent yet started the review of WRAP, but this will be announced nearer the time. Nothing concrete has been decided so far, but that is the discussion that is currently taking place. Every government department is doing the same at the moment to see how they can get the best value for money out of the funding they provide.

Budget

WRAPs 2013/14 budget from Defra has been set at 25.74 million, an 11% reduction on the 2012/13 level of 28.8 million. The Department has already indicated that there are likely to be reductions in funding for WRAP for the next three years.

Reductions in Defras own budget are set to continue, with Chancellor George Osborne confirming in his budget announcement in March that the Department would see a budget reduction of around 10% from 1.9 billion in 2013/14 to 1.7 billion in 2014/15 (see letsrecycle.com story).

WRAP is understood to be submitting regular performance updates to Defra on the strategic work it is undertaking, as well as monthly financial returns and quarterly progress reports against programme and expenditure plans.

Direction

Meanwhile, the review is also expected to determine future priority areas for WRAP, with much of the organisations work currently focusing on reducing food waste, as well as the Courtauld Commitment, the third phase of which is due to be launched this Spring (see letsrecycle.com story)

It is expected that food waste and waste prevention are likely to continue to be key areas of focus for the organisation in the future, however other areas, such as work on tackling construction sector waste, could be scaled back.

WRAP has already cut back on recent years on a number of work streams, such as wood recycling and its local authority work.

The government is also in the process of reviewing the work of the Environment Agency and conservation and nature body Natural England, and examining the feasibility of merging the two bodies (see letsrecycle.com story).