the End of the Environment Agency ...as we know it ...

[matty40s]

jim

 

There were large cuts planned in the EA by the Government (not without merit) and cuts were announced seemingly at the same time as the front line chaps were doing a wonderful job filling sandbags and erecting flood defences.

Quite obviously, the EA have made some massive PR clangers and the Gov has capitalised on this while the rain, wind and floods keep everyones attention diverted.

After a short period where one EA top man appears without wellies and another doesn't apologise, the Gov sticks the boot in with "we thought we were talking to experts" when the communities minister apologises profusely while still eating waffles hidden in his cheeks, regarding the fact that someone only 9 months ago took a decision Not to dredge the levels in the face of many farmers requests with historical evidence supplied.

Seemingly in the midst of disaster, the Gov has found a good day to bury bad N'EA'ws.

Edited February 9, 2014 by matty40s

[Arphamoe]

http://www.insidetheenvironmentagency.co.uk gives some interesting points!! Lots of sour grapes exhibited, but as they say - no smoke without fire!!

[mark99]

jim

 

 

Seemingly in the midst of disaster, the Gov has found a good day to bury bad N'EA'ws.

 

Yup - it's acted switfly to pander to the lack of dredging lobby at the same time ensuring that they can do whatever they want with the EA by holding them up as incompetent.

 

He's obviously found a good way of saving time doing two things at once so he can spend more time with his true love = pork pies.

Edited February 9, 2014 by mark99

[Phil Ambrose]

 

Yup - it's acted switfly to pander to the lack of dredging lobby at the same time ensuring that they can do whatever they want with the EA by holding them up as incompetent.

 

He's obviously found a good way of saving time doing two things at once so he can spend more time with his true love = pork pies.

Pickles and pork pies go well together.

Phil

[smileypete]

My 2p:

 

EA: To many chiefs and not enough 'injuns, too much PR, not enough essential work.

Govt: Useless shower incapable of reforming EA, only spinning and passing the buck.

 

cheers, Pete.

~smpt~

[JDR]

I´ve always found the EA to be a very professional body and as Government departments go a relative joy to deal with. Am I the only one that finds it strange that the Central Government is trying to apportion blame for the lack of dredging in Somerset to the Environment Agency which is as the gov.co.uk website suggests is a Government run body.

[bassplayer]

....all depends on who thought selling the dredgers was a good idea?....(just something I heard...)

[OldGoldy]

....all depends on who thought selling the dredgers was a good idea?....(just something I heard...)

 

no, silly - sell dredgers/sack dredgers drivers/employ agency/private contractors/fattencronies wallets

Edited February 10, 2014 by OldGoldy

[Ssscrudddy]

Wasnt it the government who abolished most of the flood boards

[Barry]

Radio 4 this morning. Lord Wassname (Smith?), head of EA is fighting back by pointing out that the treasury restricted spending so heavily that EA didn't have the money to dredge

[RLWP]

Radio 4 this morning. Lord Wassname (Smith?), head of EA is fighting back by pointing out that the treasury restricted spending so heavily that EA didn't have the money to dredge

 

Lord Smith it is. I thought he did well

 

They put £400,000 on the table to do dredging in Somerset, but it didn't meet the Treasury's 8:1 cost benefit targets (£8 benefit for every £1 spent), so it was turned down

 

Pickles is a pompous fool

 

Richard

Edited February 10, 2014 by RLWP

[Alastair]

The other thing to consider is that the EA and others have pushed planting on the watershed areas - which are farmers. This is opposed by the farmers.

 

Farming communities are, on the whole, tory-voting. A tory government is never going to do anything to alienate them.

 

So by shouting "We must dredge, curse those lazy EA people who didn't dredge", the government is diverting attention away from them not doing the cheaper, more effective methods of flood prevention. If they do what the experts say, it will cost them votes.

[Tuscan]

. If they do what the experts say, it will cost them votes.

Don't you mean voles???

[Swallowman]

Isn't there some b****y silly EU rule that prevents dredging ditches and similar watercourses in the way that had been done for several decades at least?

 

Didn't the EA spend an alleged £20 million on creating / preserving a bird sanctuary in Somerset meaning there was nothing left in the kitty to carry out the essential dredging even if it were allowed?

 

The "blame game" makes good headlines but the people who know are those that live there and in the main, they have been ignored because they are not organised well enough to have their say heard by those who draw the purse strings.

 

Edit for spellin errer

Edited February 10, 2014 by Swallowman

[Machpoint005]

I heard Lord Smith this morning as well.The central message was that if you cut the money, things don't get done. Well what a surprise that is!

 

Reminds me of a prospective local councillor on my doorstep several years ago who wanted to save money by not repainting the window frames on council houses, She didn't have an answer to my question about what it would cost when the windows fell out prematurely.

 

I need not specify her political persuasion.

[furnessvale]

 

Didn't the EA spend an alleged £20 million on creating / preserving a bird sanctuary in Somerset meaning there was nothing left in the kitty to carry out the essential dredging even if it were allowed?

 

 

There was a journalist on the TV the other day (Sunday Politics?) saying this spend was actually flood defences for a village, which have actually worked. The bird sanctuary was a bit of an add on.

 

George ex nb Alton retired

[Tony Brooks]

I heard Lord Smith this morning as well.The central message was that if you cut the money, things don't get done. Well what a surprise that is!

 

So did I and if he is correct about the inability to dredge was caused by Treasury (Government) "rules"then why the blazes did he and his other big wigs resign and make sure the press knew why.

 

There is far too much of this hanging on to well paid public jobs when honesty/ethics/ morality should dictate a resignation and publicity. Still when did those adjectives apply to politicians etc.

[Timleech]

There was a journalist on the TV the other day (Sunday Politics?) saying this spend was actually flood defences for a village, which have actually worked. The bird sanctuary was a bit of an add on.

 

George ex nb Alton retired

 

Chris Smith was saying something similar this morning, they had built new, stronger defences back from the shore as the older defences were crumbling, the bit in between makes a good wetland for the birds (and presumably offers a measure of protection to the new defences?)

 

Tim

[RLWP]

 

So did I and if he is correct about the inability to dredge was caused by Treasury (Government) "rules"then why the blazes did he and his other big wigs resign and make sure the press knew why.

 

There is far too much of this hanging on to well paid public jobs when honesty/ethics/ morality should dictate a resignation and publicity. Still when did those adjectives apply to politicians etc.

 

At the moment, I got the impression that he was staying put to make sure that his folk on the ground could get on with the job in hand, without being buggered about by journalists and politicians

 

Richard

[Tony Brooks]

 

At the moment, I got the impression that he was staying put to make sure that his folk on the ground could get on with the job in hand, without being buggered about by journalists and politicians

 

Richard

 

 

Yes, but from what one can gather maybe he should have resigned last year or when ever the Treasury put a block on adequate spending.

[Machpoint005]

On the other he might not be prepared to walk away from what he sees as his responsibilities, since the gesture would be interpreted (or spun) as a political gesture rather than a genuine wish to do the job properly. The whole point is that the various ministers do not understand the problems and are unwilling to pay what it really costs to solve them.

 

Camoron's posturing is just sickening, and his after-the-event intervention is just allowing Somerset farmers to write the news instead of listening to what the EA is actually trying to do.

[Jambo]

Virtually every publicly funded body has had savage cuts in funding imposed on them in the past few years by the treasury. It's just a fact of life with the current government and I don't see how resigning would help - they'll just replace you with someone pliant who will toe the line. Better to crack on and do the best job you can.

 

I suspect that over time it'll become quite clear that the Environment Agency has done about the best it can in the situation and the government will look very foolish.

[andywatson]

Didn't they stop dredging seriously about 20 years ago?

 

This implicates both flavours of government.

 

I remember a hearing a radio interview of a man standing in flood water in his house in East Yorkshire after the 2007 floods.

He said that the authorities had stopped dreging the drains in East Yorkshire to avoid disturbing the great crested newts.......

 

 

..but hoped that the newts were now happy living in his new kitchen.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 10, 2014 by andywatson

[Tony Brooks]

That's the problem though and not wishing to enlarge this topic but to illustrate. We have local councillors asking their electorate about what cuts they should make to keep within Government imposed cuts and spending limits rather than either doing what they were elected to do OR (more to the point) open;y saying their task is impossible so they are unable to carry on. Then there are a variety of Social Services scandals where it seem clear to me that jobs were not being done as they should be because of lack of funds - no Director seems to have resigned, they mostly try to scape goat overworked staff. Now lets consider certain NHS senior managers. What about the Probation Service etc. That is before we get to Ministers and other senior Government office holders.

 

I would like to hope that when it becomes clear to a senior manager or director that the task they have accepted can not be satisfactorily done (for whatever reason) they make it clear what they attribute that to and resign. They should not keep stuffing their pockets and make excuses about doing the best they can - and so on! However it seems pocket stuffing is now more important than public service, ethics and so on.

[smileypete]

Seems like the EA budget isn't too bad but too much of it has gone on perks and PR and zero on required dredging in some places.

 

Reminds me a bit of British Waterways and their ill fated computer system.

 

cheers, Pete.

~smpt~

Edited February 10, 2014 by smileypete