Posted at 22nd January 2008 19:41No Minister
I received a response to the Dredging Petition from Jonathan Shaw MP DEFRA minister:
"DEFRA headed paper.
From Jonathan Shaw MP Minister for Marine, Landscape & Rural Affairs and Minister for the South East.
Dear Mr. Campbell,
Thank you for your letter of 23rd November enclosing a petition about dredging and river maintenance carried out by the Broads Authority.
I cannot see that you have substantiated your claim that �things could hardly be worse for the Broads Authority.� The Broads Authority is subject to an annual audit by the audit commission which looks at the efficiency of organisations and value for money. All of the National Parks and the Broads Authority underwent a new performance assessment system (based on the Comprehensive Performance Assessment that local authorities use) in 2005. The team that carried out the recent assessment of the Broads Authority felt it was �an organisation that has moved a long way in a short space of time. It has made considerable strides in terms of strategy, plans, stakeholder buy-in and corporate systems. Considerable support was expressed by many stakeholders for the work the Authority is doing.� The Broads Authority scored highly with strengths outweighing weaknesses in 7 out of ten areas.
Your letter covered a number of other issues which I would like to address, namely:
Broads Private Bill
Defra has made its support of the Bill clear. Hansard of course records the views of every individual member of parliament who speaks, so it is not surprising that a range of opinions can be found on any subject but I do not accept that these views can be interpreted as the Broads Authority or that it is in any sense the view of Parliament as a whole.
I accept that there is a cost involved in producing any new legislation (and of course for a Private Bill that cost increases when people petition against the Bill so that an Opposed Bill hearing is required) but that is a price well worth paying to ensure that we have the properly considered and effective legislation on the statute book.
RSPB Report
The recent RSPB report cites several examples of Broads Authority good practice e.g. the restoration of habitat for bitterns at Buttles marsh, How Hill; the opportunities created at Whitlingham Broad and the bursary scheme. It states that �no-one should underestimate the scale and complexity of this work and difficulties in tackling some of the fundamentals, such as influencing water quality � and that resources are a factor.� Certainly now the main point sources of water pollution have been tackled it is much harder to make in-roads to diffuse sources. The Water Quality Partnership established by the Authority with partners such as the Environment Agency, Natural England, Anglian Water and the Internal Drainage Boards is an important vehicle. I am aware that the Broads Authority is delighted that the RSPB has picked up on their Whole Valley Management Initiative and looks forward to working in partnership with them in the valley of the River Yare in particular.
I note too that amongst the �debating points� raised by the RSPB is the possibility that �too much influence has been given to boating interests � it gets forgotten, in some quarters that the environment is why the Broads supports leisure and many linked businesses�.
Tourism and Planning
Your letter states that in particular you considered that the Broads Authority was not functioning effectively on tourism and planning issues. Tourism is something of a shorthand term in this context so it may be worth considering that the Authority is actually charged with is the more specific task of �promoting opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of the Broads by the public.�
To that end the Authority has engaged in these projects:
Hire Boat Industry
Against a background of decline in the hire boat sector boat sector [sic] and the cry for help from local businesses, the Authority commissioned the Boating Holidays Project which was published early in 2001. The cost was approximately £22,500.
Sustainable Tourism Strategy
This key piece of work, a prerequisite of accreditation under the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism was adopted by the Authority in January 2006. It cost £48,500 of which £28,000 was from EEDA so the Authority spent 20,000 from the extra £500,000 National Park Grant provided by Defra.
Branding
Simon Anholt, an international consultant who advises the UK government on branding, has been supporting the Authority in looking at the profile of the Broads. The work is ongoing with the total costs to date at £27,000.
Overall Costs
So the Authority has spent some £70,000 on consultants for these four important studies, over the last seven years, in this vital area of economic activity for the Broads � rather less than the hundreds of thousands of pound you allege had been spent.
The Authority has been successful in raising substantial external funding for tourism and access. For example, the current interpretation project involves a contribution of £69,000 from Leeder +, a European funding programme, for a project totalling approximately £140,000. which has brought in private funding from organisation[s] such as Clippesby Hall, Fairhaven Gardens and the Open Churches Fund. The Authority is contributing £15,000.
Planning
The Broads Authority has always had the responsibility for planning but, as you say recently decided to bring it in house. I do not see the number of cases is particularly relevant (Northumberland National Park Authority, for example deals with some 200 a year). What matters is that the sound, timely decision is taken on each application so that planning decisions are taken so that planning decisions are contributing to the work of conserving and enhancing the Broads. I would add that Broads Authority was one of the first local planning authorities to achieve a �sound� status� for its Core Strategy by an independent planning inspector.
I hope I have made it clear that I do not agree with your criticisms of the Authority. Indeed, I share the view expre4ssed to the House by my predecessor that the Broads Authority is to be congratulated on the excellent way they manage the expectations of a wised range of people and ensure the Broads remain for all to enjoy.
In recognition of that, I have recently committed significant further Government funding to the Broads Authority over the next three years. This will see their total grant rise from £4.127 million in 2007/8 to £4.442 million in 2010/11 � an increase of £7.6% over the period. This will enable the Authority to continue to address the challenges facing the Broads and in particular make real inroads into the need for dredging identified in the Sediment Management Strategy. And the recent acquisition of the May Gurney operation will ensure that work is delivered cost effectively.
I note that you conclude your letter by asking for a Harbour Conservancy to manage the Broads. This was not the approach which Parliament favoured when creating the Broads authority in 1988.
Your petition is headed �formal complaint� � I am unclear whether you have raised your concerns on these issues direct with the Broads Authority but any complaint should be made with the Authority in the first instance after which it may be appropriate for referral to the Local Authority Ombudsman. The Broads Authority website ( www.broads-authority.gov.uk) provides details of forthcoming meetings which are open to the public and which you might find useful; further information about the Ombudsman system is at www. lgo.org.uk
I trust that you will make this reply available to the 1,660 people who signed your petition and on whose behalf you wrote to me.
Yours sincerely, Jonathan Shaw."
And this is my reply:
Jonathan Shaw MP.,
Defra,
Nobel House,
17 Smith Square,
London SW1 3JR.
Dear ,
Thank you for your letter of 7th January 2008 in response to the Petition that I sent you last year, which complained about the Broads Authority�s maintenance of our river system.
In deference to your request to make your response fully available to petition signatories, I have posted your letter in full, plus a copy of this reply; not only on the petition website www.speakerscorner.com but also on my blogsite www.broadlyspeaking.com . Signatories and others have the opportunity to read your response and make their own comments.
When I suggested the Broads Authority was widely mistrusted, I was hardly seeking an opinion. This view was also noted by the BA Navigation Committee during the Comprehensive Performance Assessment to which you referred in your letter - although omitted from the final report. Public perception was not improved when the Chairman of the Broads Authority forwarded an email to all thirty members of the Broads Authority and Navigation Committee, describing a public consultation meeting as an �onslaught by the little men�. I fear that until a measure of democracy is instilled into the Broads Authority, the extent of local opinion must continue to fail to permeate layers of civil servants: somehow, I don�t expect a professional politician to present a public case against democracy. It is remarkable how this Authority has managed to turn a reservoir of goodwill into what is becoming a cohesive opposition movement. We live here � and were not about to go away.
I fear that much of your letter contains precisely the sort of half truth that we have come to expect from the Broads Authority. Not outright lies but not quite the whole truth either. More a question of two half-truths making a whole truth. Without delving into precise expenditure and sources of funding for tourism; nothing changes the end result of zero tangible output over seven years. Planning too must also prove ineffective and both for the same reason � the organisation is structurally flawed.
I note your quote from the RSPB report that �too much influence has been given to boating influences ...� The only effective way to see and enjoy the Broads is by boat. Without the rivers there is nothing. Similarly, whilst recalling the inimitable advice offered by LBJ to Galbraith: doubtless civil servants league tables of Local Authorities performance feel hot to you. � unfortunately the average Broads navigator only sees rivers and broads that are in significantly worse condition than they were twenty years ago.
I too am happy to disagree with the content of your letter.
Yours sincerely, Jamie Campbell
If you'd like to add anything to this correspondence or express an opinion there is an opportunity on www.speakerscorner.com
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Category: Tourism.