Funding boost saves Broads Authority's services
The Broads Authority is to receive an extra £190,000 in funding over the next two years, the Government announced on Thursday 6 April.
The increase of about 2.5% per year to cover the cost of inflation will mean that valued services, which were in danger of being been cut, will be saved.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) announced at the beginning of the year that it was going to freeze the £3,933,000 grant that the Broads Authority received in 2005/06.
But after intense lobbying by national park authorities the Landscape Minister Jim Knight announced today that all national parks in England will share £3.1m extra funding over the next two years.
The Broads Authority will receive an extra £91,836 in 2006/07, increasing its budget to £4,025,018, with a further £101,745 for 2007/08, increasing its budget to £4,126,763.
Chairman Professor Kerry Turner welcomed the news. He said: ” We are delighted that the minister has recognised the case for providing additional funding to cover the costs of inflation for the next two years. When combined with the cost and efficiency savings which have already been identified, this means that the Authority will not need to make the significant reductions in services which would otherwise have been necessary.
“However, the funding is not in itself sufficient to allow the Authority to take forward any major new initiatives. We will continue to be prudent and are seeking to reduce employee and other fixed costs in order to concentrate expenditure on operational costs.”
06/04/2006
