EA disbanding

[jonboy walton]

Now that's got your attention I will elaborate!

I am Secretary of my local angling club (Taunton AA)in Somerset. Just before the end of May I had to ring the chairman about something, but what he had to tell me was far more disturbing. We have two chaps from the EA attend our AGM's, and the day before he had received a phone call from one of them stating that the SW fisheries section of the EA was to be disbanded. Apparently there are 11 people working in this area at the moment, but one has left already, four are to be made redundant, and the remaining six are to be diverted into other jobs within the EA such as flood relief etc. The upshot of this is that by the end of September 2002 we will have no attendence by the EA at our AGM's, no netting service, much reduced baliffing( it's not brilliant now) and nobody knows what happens if we have a pollution. The EA chap didn't seem to be able to expand any further, and to be honest he didn'tknow what he would be doing in six weeks time, let alone six months. The chairman spoke to the other chap who is in charge of the fisheries section in the Somerset area, but he could not expand any more except to say it was due to 'budgetary cutbacks'. The chairman contacted Angling Times to see if they knew anything about this and they were very surprised. AT are going to look into the matter. The EA have kept this very quiet for whatever reason and I can reveal to you that this is country wide, not just in the South West. There has been nothing in the national press or any angling magazine or paper.

Does anyone konow anything about this? The main question being, what are we going to get for buying a rod licence in the future, obviously a lot less that at present!

 

Regards

 

Jon :confused:

[waterman1013]

Jonboy

 

I think you will find that this is all part of the re-structuring of the EA, brought about by lack of Government funding. In 1992 the EA received something like £9.2 million Grant in Aid from the British Government. In 1993/4/5 that was progressively cut back by the Treasury to something like £3.1 million, (the figures may be wrong but the scales are certainly similar).

 

Last year as part of the “get elected again campaign” the Government announced an increase to £6.2 million, but from next year not this year. The EA said then that they would not be able to continue to provide the service levels they had been doing and that jobs would go as a consequence because of their budget shortfall during this financial year.

 

Baroness Young, Chief Executive of the EA, set about looking for re-organisation across the old divisions, to save money and also, and more importantly, to try and get the old barriers broken down within the EA between the old River Board people and the other teams who work with rivers but have no understanding of fisheries needs. Most of those affected are very much against these changes, hence the lack of information they are willing, or able, to give you.

 

We may end up with a leaner fisheries service but her idea is that it will be more broadly based and therefore better able to provide for the needs of our rivers. I only hope that turns out to be the case. I fear it may not.

 

The increase in Grant in Aid for next year would have continued the fisheries service as it is, but HMG did not want to listen to that. So much for their “Anglers Charter”, much hailed before the 1992 election.

 

Your rod licence fees go to pay for the fisheries service. If you are not happy with what you, or your club, get from the EA write to Baroness Young at Environment Agency, Rio House, Waterside Drive, Aztec West, Almondsbury, Bristol BS12 4UD

 

Mike Heylin

[phil hackett]

Mike I think its time to post the E-mail address of the fishing MP Martin Slater salter? So we can blitz him with mail.

[Peter Waller]

Toddled off to the Royal Norfolk Show yesterday. Great! The EA had a couple of marguees. One for fishing, which was excellent, and one regarding flooding & the Broads Flooding issue. And that is where I got a tad concerned.

 

The EA, for various reasons, has farmed the 'flooding' issue out to a private company, eeeeeeek.

 

This, I find worrying. Private companies, with money for nothing shareholders, have to be profitable. Will such a company, which is now responsible for research as well as the actual work, create work for itself? By the way, I have no problems with 'profit' within society generally. I do have a problem when profit becomes the overiding 'god' and the environment suffers accordingly.

 

The Broads has, for centuries, had a perfectly effective system of flood areas, taking surplus flood waters off the rivers. Now there is a determination to keep the water within the actual rivers. This in turn increases the flow rate, that in turn will wash fresh-water fish out to sea. It will also increase the scour which in turn will lead to a greater need for dredging, which in turn will see aquatic environments being destroyed. The Broads has a 'balance' that could well be destroyed in the name of profit. Whilst the EA had its financial constraints at least it was restrained.

 

Now that private companies are becoming involved, for whatever reason, money that previously did not go to the EA is now, so it seems, being found to pay to these private companies. Privatisation of the EA via the backdoor? Strange that tax payers money can be found when shareholders become involved. :confused: As Chesters is apt to say, I blame the government.

 

[ 27 June 2002, 08:33 AM: Message edited by: Peter Waller ]

[Jim Roper]

phil hackett:

Mike I think its time to post the E-mail address of the fishing MP Martin Slater salter? So we can blitz him with mail.

Try: salterm@parliament.uk

 

http://www.locata.co.uk/cgi-bin/webdriver?...ons_mail&id=360

 

http://www.martinsalter.com

 

Jim Roper

 

[ 27 June 2002, 01:40 PM: Message edited by: Jim Roper ]

[waterman1013]

Thanks Jim

 

I couldn't find it anywhwhere.

 

Mike

[Jim Roper]

waterman1013:

Thanks Jim

 

I couldn't find it anywhwhere.

'salterm@parliament.uk' seems to work for me.

In most cases, it's worth trying putting the MP's initial after their surname and putting '@parliament.uk' after it for their Email address at the House of Commons.

Otherwise, follow these links:

 

Go to http://www.parliament.uk

Click on the first item ' House of Commons '.

Click on ' Information about the House of Commons and Members of Parliament '.

Click on ' Lists of Members and Ministers '.

Click on 'Alphabetical List of Members of Parliament'.

Click on ' S 'for Salter.

Click on 'Email' to get a message form to contact him direct at Westminster or click on 'Website' where you will find his personal site. On this site is a 'Contact' tab that will take you to a page where you will find an Email link. When you hold you mouse pointer over this link, your status bar at the base of your screen should show the Email address to which you can post a message. Low and behold it is salterm@parliament.uk.

 

NOW ALL OF YOU GET POSTING!!!!!!!

 

Jim Roper

[OP-JB]

I have been worried, along with our E.A. fisheries officer for six months now. It looks really bad and as the behaviour of the E.A. middle and upper management showed me when they pushed through the Trout and Grayling fisheries Strategy through, they are capable of anything. Tossers! :mad:

[Legs]

Hi everyone

This sounds like the same "restructure" as was done with the water companies. After working for one of the major water companies for over 16years my contract was transferred to a subcontractor and within six months was paid off, after 16yrs. I came out with less than £4000 within 1yr there is no one left from the water board they're all subbys,my heart goes out to the people employed by the EA. If the service goes the same way our rivers are going to be in a mess.

Legs