Member

When the Canal & River Trust was given responsibility for our canals, it committed to reduce its dependence on government grants, yet more than a decade on, the trust still receives £50 million annually from the taxpayer and is still unable to stand on its own two feet. The trust is taxpayer funded; it should deliver for taxpayers. I note that, although the annual central government funding for the Canal & River Trust is currently £50 million, the trust’s own estimates suggest that it has saved just £250,000 annually by removing bins from towpaths in the London and south-east region. That is just 0.5% of the annual sum it receives from the taxpayer.