Feb 21, 2008

Wrap loses 30% of budget from Defra


Wrap, the body charged with achieving packaging reduction, will have to work with 30% less funding in England after the government confirmed a budget settlement of £43.2m for the next financial year.

The Waste and Resources Action Programme said, however, that the money from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) was still a "substantial sum" to deliver its "important and stretching" work programme.

The Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (Brew) programme also takes its funding from the £43.2m budget.

Around a quarter of Wrap's funding comes from the devolved governments in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Their contributions should take its total budget to an "anticipated £60m".

Wrap received a total of £67.7m in grants in 2006/7, down from almost £80m in 2005/6.

Wrap chief executive Liz Goodwin announced last December that the organisation faced a possible 25% budget cut that would need to a "net reduction" in jobs.

It cut 31 positions on 5 February, but said it would create 18 new posts.

Wrap said it would now "review its priority areas", but it was too early to provide more details of the impact of the budget cuts.

Defra also said the Carbon Trust would receive £47.4m to be partly be used to increase its Energy Saving Loans scheme for small and medium-sized companies.

No comments: