Defra releases details of £162million budget cuts for 2010/2011

Defra will be hit with a £162 million, or 5.5% cut to its 2010/2011 funding, as part of the Government’s overall £6bn public spending cuts in 2010/11.

A Defra spokesman could not say that whether cuts would affect the horseworld directly, but did confirm that savings would be made in the following areas:

• Limiting recruitment and reducing the number of non-permanent staff

• Operational savings in IT, estates and procurement

• A reduction in funding for Regional Development Agencies

• Efficiencies in flood management while maintaining an increase in expenditure

• Savings within the delivery of selected programs

• Savings in the Rural Development Programme (RDPE) — including reduction of capital payments

• Scaling back IT investment in the Whole Farm Approach

• Scaling back surveillance of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (BSE)

Defra is finalising the fine details, which it expects to confirm “shortly”.

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