Email your MP regarding funding concerns

[rgreg]

I don't know if this has been posted elsewhere, but it's copied from the CRT update: a simple link to email your MP regarding the funding concerns. It only takes a minute and can't do any harm even if it doesn't do any good. The email is pre-written with the option to add your own comments if you wish. It even automatically finds your MP's email.

 

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/canalrivertrust.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=936676c6b0ead7474e5c5ff70&id=cacc4272d9&e=94452b00af__;!!LHav0979W1rwZ6kzRg!6oO3ONEygijWq3Oe_b30s3NZ2IxC5cvCwaUdzJOKMDUJBE3fZo8bFEHnltHt1aixcb-Zoz28GCr3wVnS0A1rdk9SCOIw%24

Edited July 15, 2023 by rgreg

[Hudds Lad]

Done, but i fear it will fall on deaf ears with our local clown of a Tory MP who frequently abstains from votes or toes the party line when told.

[Guest]

Done.

 

But our MP will likely come back with some waffly response.

[Rob-M]

I've sent the email but not having any canals or CRT managed waterways in our area I doubt my local MP will care much.

[Tonka]

5 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

I've sent the email but not having any canals or CRT managed waterways in our area I doubt my local MP will care much.

Same here

[Barneyp]

1 hour ago, rgreg said:

I don't know if this has been posted elsewhere, but it's copied from the CRT update: a simple link to email your MP regarding the funding concerns. It only takes a minute and can't do any harm even if it doesn't do any good. The email is pre-written with the option to add your own comments if you wish. It even automatically finds your MP's email.

 

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/canalrivertrust.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=936676c6b0ead7474e5c5ff70&id=cacc4272d9&e=94452b00af__;!!LHav0979W1rwZ6kzRg!6oO3ONEygijWq3Oe_b30s3NZ2IxC5cvCwaUdzJOKMDUJBE3fZo8bFEHnltHt1aixcb-Zoz28GCr3wVnS0A1rdk9SCOIw%24

Done.

Can pretty much guarantee one email will have little to no effect....

BUT the more people that do it, added together with the pressure from CRT and the IWA, NABO and others, and it might make a difference. 

Edited July 15, 2023 by Barneyp

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

21 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

I've sent the email but not having any canals or CRT managed waterways in our area I doubt my local MP will care much.

 

15 minutes ago, Tonka said:

Same here

  
Can you not contact the MP for the areas where you keep your boats?

 

With no fixed abode I understand I can chose any local MP from one of the areas I regularly pass through.

In fact, if we thought it’d do any good, there’s nothing stopping any of us contacting any or all the MP’s. 
 

Edited July 15, 2023 by Goliath

[Arthur Marshall]

Never had much faith in this email your MP lark, nor endless petitions. I'll do it, but it's still pointless. Most MPs are just lobby fodder, doing what they're told and voting the party line. I've never been very sure what the point of most of them is.

[Barneyp]

2 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

Never had much faith in this email your MP lark, nor endless petitions. I'll do it, but it's still pointless. Most MPs are just lobby fodder, doing what they're told and voting the party line. I've never been very sure what the point of most of them is.

They vary a lot, through my work with a local charity i have met a few, varying from bizarre and possibly mentally unhinged to reasonable people genuinely trying to do their best to represent the electorate.

Oddly the one that I thought was the worst, and the one I thought was the most honest and trustworthy are both from the opposite end of the political spectrum to me.

[Tonka]

18 minutes ago, Goliath said:

 

  
Can you not contact the MP for the areas where you keep your boats?

 

With no fixed abode I understand I can chose any local MP from one of the areas I regularly pass through.

In fact, if we thought it’d do any good, there’s nothing stopping any of us contacting any or all the MP’s. 
 

Done for the boat mooring. Hope they don't get a flood of letters from the house of commons which often happens after you have contacted the MP

[PeterF]

I fly radio control planes. A few years ago there were changes bought on by drone issues that meant we would need to register with the CAA as drone operators at a cost to ourselves. The national group organised members to email MPs and the transport Secretary. Potentially 35,000 members in the main national body plus others but I can not recall the numbers who did so. It did not change the new legislation but cut the fee in half so there was some measure of success. However in this case we were talking of an income stream of £2m/year being halved to £1m to pay for the CAA registration system and admin, so less of an issue tjan the CRT grant.

[cuthound]

i contacted my MP when I first read about it in Damien's Weekly CRT update, last week. However as my local MP is Chris Pincher, who has apparently done bu**er all since having the whip withdrawn (he probably enjoyed that ) and refuses to resign before the next general election, I don't hold much hope of him even reading it.

[Arthur Marshall]

14 minutes ago, cuthound said:

i contacted my MP when I first read about it in Damien's Weekly CRT update, last week. However as my local MP is Chris Pincher, who has apparently done bu**er all since having the whip withdrawn (he probably enjoyed that ) and refuses to resign before the next general election, I don't hold much hope of him even reading it.

You expect an MP to read their emails? They have staff for that, and to take any required action, and to write their response. Sometimes, of course, the person they pay is a family member, who almost certainly doesn't do it either.

An MPs job is to occasionally walk through a lobby, and appear at the odd local event. It's a very odd job.

[cuthound]

27 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

You expect an MP to read their emails? They have staff for that, and to take any required action, and to write their response. Sometimes, of course, the person they pay is a family member, who almost certainly doesn't do it either.

An MPs job is to occasionally walk through a lobby, and appear at the odd local event. It's a very odd job.

 

I'm not sure that anyone would want to work for Chris Pincher, not even family members...

 

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

is this our man?

[Midnight]

Our MP is Rishi perhaps I'll just invite him in for a cuppa and a chat when he does the rounds next year canvassing for my vote.

 

 

Edited July 15, 2023 by Midnight

[cuthound]

28 minutes ago, Goliath said:

is this our man?

 

That's Michael Fabricant, MP for Lichfield and the Minister with responsibility for waterways.

 

Probably worth all forum members emailing him as given he is the government's lead for waterways issues.

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

16 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

That's Michael Fabricant, MP for Lichfield and the Minister with responsibility for waterways.

 

Probably worth all forum members emailing him as given he is the government's lead for waterways issues.

That’s me thinking 👍

[Rob-M]

I've received the following response from my local MPs office...

 

Thank you for your email to Dr Liam Fox. He has written already to Rebecca Pow, the Minister concerned at Defra and I will send you a copy of her reply when it is to hand.

[cuthound]

I have put the link to the MP's on my Facebook page along with an explanation of why I'm asking my friends to contact their MP if they value their local canals.

 

I've also asked them to consider sharing it with their friends.

[Hudds Lad]

Well, i got a reply, which surprised me. Plus it seems different to the other standard replies i've seen on Facey. Not surprised at the content though.

 

"Dear Andy,

Thank you for contacting me about canals.

I am passionate supporter of our local canals and waterways. I have volunteered in painting lock gates near Slaithwaite and the visitor centre at Standedge and actively campaigned for more funding for towpaths.

Canals form an important part of the Government’s work in reintroducing biodiversity in nature. In addition to their history and industrial heritage, there are significant health and wellbeing benefits to walking along a canal. I understand that around 800 million visits are made to our canals every year, which demonstrates their importance in the UK.

The Government is developing policies to adapt to climate change across the country and I am aware that navigation authorities are exploring ways to adapt the network, such as through installing electric charging points in rivers and canals, which have helped encourage boaters to switch to electric vessels.

The Canal & River Trust is responsible for 2,000 miles of waterways and associated historic industrial infrastructure in England and Wales. It is responsible for maintaining the navigability and safety of its waterways including reservoirs, embankments and other infrastructure. The Government recognises that the organisation has an important role to play in contributing to the Environmental Improvement Plan.

While there is no obligation on Ministers to fund the Canal & River Trust beyond 2027, I am aware that, subject to certain conditions being met, the Government will offer a new long-term funding package of over £400 million. To date, the Canal & River Trust has been supported with £550 million funding from the Government. With this further commitment, the charity will be supported with a further £590 million until 2037.

Since it was first created in 2012 as a private charity independent of the Government, Ministers have been clear that the Canal & River Trust should become progressively more self-sufficient financially. I understand that a Memorandum of Understanding between the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Canal & River Trust signed in June 2012 included the objective to “reduce dependence on Government Grant and to foster increasing self-sufficiency, by providing access to new charitable income streams and stimulating new efficiencies.” I am aware that the long-term £400 million funding deal for 2027 to 2037 continues that objective.

Finally, Defra has been discussing this with the charity for some time and has been offering support on how it can increase income from other sources, alongside continued funding from the Government. I know that my ministerial colleagues and I look forward to continued enjoyment of our local waterways.

I will continue to fight for our local waterways.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.

Kind regards,

Jason



Jason McCartney MP"

[Grassman]

On 15/07/2023 at 20:02, cuthound said:

 

That's Michael Fabricant, MP for Lichfield and the Minister with responsibility for waterways.

 

Probably worth all forum members emailing him as given he is the government's lead for waterways issues.

 

I'm not so sure it'll do any good given this reply I've had from him

 

Many thanks for your e-mail regarding waterways funding.  I am grateful to you for contacting me on this issue.

 

I share your concern, but to talk about Government support for our waterways, which amounts to hundreds of millions of pounds as “small”, is fallacious.  Nevertheless, as chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Waterways, I agree with your more general points and I am actively in discussions with the Canal & River Trust, who are the main navigation authority, and with HM Treasury.

 

My thanks, again, for writing.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Michael Fabricant

[Richard T]

This is what I got from Jane Hunt our local MP. It is very similar to the response that Hudds Lad got.

 

Dear Mr Thorpe,

Thank you for your email about canals.

As you know, canals form an important part of the Government’s work in reintroducing biodiversity in nature. In addition to, as you have mentioned, their history and industrial heritage, there are significant health and wellbeing benefits to walking along a canal. I understand that around 800 million visits are made to our canals every year, which demonstrates their importance in the UK.
 
The Canal & River Trust is responsible for 2,000 miles of waterways and associated historic industrial infrastructure in England and Wales. It is responsible for maintaining the navigability and safety of its waterways including reservoirs, embankments and other infrastructure. The Government recognises that the organisation has an important role to play in contributing to the Environmental Improvement Plan. For example, the Government is developing policies to adapt to climate change across the country and I am aware that navigation authorities are exploring ways to adapt the network, such as through installing electric charging points in rivers and canals, which have helped encourage boaters to switch to electric vessels.
 
That said, while I note your concern about funding, you may find it helpful to know that, while there is no obligation on Ministers to fund the Canal & River Trust beyond 2027, I am aware that, subject to certain conditions being met, the Government will offer a new long-term funding package of over £400 million. To date, the Canal & River Trust has been supported with £550 million funding from the Government. With this further commitment, the charity will be supported with a further £590 million until 2037.
 
Since it was first created in 2012 as a private charity independent of the Government, Ministers have been clear that the Canal & River Trust should become progressively more self-sufficient financially. I understand that a Memorandum of Understanding between the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Canal & River Trust signed in June 2012 included the objective to “reduce dependence on Government Grant and to foster increasing self-sufficiency, by providing access to new charitable income streams and stimulating new efficiencies”. The long-term £400 million funding deal for 2027 to 2037 continues that objective.
 
Finally, I understand that Defra has been discussing this with the charity for some time and has been offering support on how it can increase income from other sources, alongside continued funding from the Government.

I hope this information is useful and, if I can be of any further assistance, please do let me know.

Best wishes,

Jane

[IanD]

Looks like another cut-and-paste reply supplied by Tory Central, not a genuine MP response...

[Ray T]

Done.