The UK's gross cash contributions to the EU are about £16.5 billion a year, or £45 million a day. Every now and then, the EU, using its European Regional Development Fund, graciously hands over some of our hard-earned money to UK quangos (for whom we never voted) to do stuff that which could have been cross-charged to social tenants anyway. Provided those quangos jump through the hoops, meet the diversity criteria, fill in all the rms and allow non-UK suppliers to bid for the business etc.
From Inside Housing:
Two regional development agencies have called for housing associations to form consortia in order to access a total pot of up to £42 million of EU funding that would be used to bolster England’s fledgling retrofit industry.
The South West of England Regional Development Agency and Northwest Regional Development Agency have begun a procurement process to set up programmes that aim to inject millions into helping small retrofit-related businesses.
They have called on social housing providers, councils and energy agencies to form consortias and enter a two-part competition to deliver programmes that would distribute the European regional development fund cash to technology, construction and supply firms.
When matched with funding from the consortias, the combined value of the investment could total £55 million and see thousands of homes retrofitted. The money will support the energy efficiency and microgeneration sectors in both regions - including businesses developing retrofit technology like ground source heat pumps...
Tuesday, 13 April 2010
What one day's EU membership will get you
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11 comments:
Vijay's blog certainly is different. Or the same. Who knows.
But I dispute that he is your reader. I am your reader.
KMcC, indeed, which is why I deleted his comment and not yours.
£55m is not very much. I wonder how much of the funding would go towards offices, communications support workers, training, maternity and paternity pay, executive salary etc.
By the time the consortia had taken their slice out, there might be enough to retrofit a dozen solar-energy garden pond water features.
Anyway, retrofit is the expensive way to do it. We'd achieve more by putting the solar panels or tripple glazing or whatever on newbuilds. At least somebody would get a little use out of them then.
Flicking through the UN's Agenda 21 document yesterday, I discovered that there is a requirement on government to create NGOs.
So whichever mainstream party comes to power, you can be sure than any NGOs which are culled, will give rise to new ones. In Cam's case, I believe he will make these 'local'. Fat lot of use that will be. Same result - erosion of democracy.
WOAR, as a rule of thumb, at least half will 'stick to the sides'.
F, wot? Can you tell me where the UN said that?
@WOAR, By the time we've paid for the caviar, smoked salmon, champers, diversity co-ords, outreach workers, traditional dancers etc, I'd say half a dozen, tops.
These days you just can't spend 55 mil and get your moneys' worth.
@MW, Sounds like the UN has a hidden Agenda?
I'm just getting more livid by the minute.
It's in the Earth Summit, Agenda 21 (Rio), 1992. Download the PDF, or read online at the UN.
Page numbers quoted are Adobe Acrobat page numbers - not those on the doc (they're seriously out of synch!)
Page 33: 3.4 (b)
Page 34: 3.7
Loads like those above, but more explicitly:
Page 60: 7.16 (a) (iii) Encouraging the establishment of indigenous community-based organizations, private voluntary organrzations and other forms of non-governmental entities that can contribute to the efforts to reduce proverty and improve the quality of life for low-income familes;
Looks innocuous enough, yes? But how is the government to encourage such entities, if not via subsidy? That puts them into the fake charity / NGO category, of the type which the Blair/Brown years have spawned in their hundreds. Now, we'll get more - all over the country. In every village.
Here's one you won't have encountered - the ubiquitous ICLEI (to which every local authority in the UK belongs, in the name of "sustainable development") - which was responsible for Aussie farmer who went on hunger strike because the government would let him farm his own farmland. It's happening all over the US, as well. Find out more about ICLEI at FreedomeAdvocates.
Anyway, here it is:
Page 62 7.21Cities of all countries should reinforce cooperation among themselves and cities of the developed countries, under the aegis of non-governmental organizations active in this field, such as the International Union of Local Authorities (IULA), the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) and the World Federation of Twin Cities.
Page 67 7.60 (d) (ii) Promoting close collaboration between governmental and local authorities, local communities and non-governmental organizations and private business;
This last reference I included to show that the UN's NGO is the same as a UK QUANGO.
There are 100 or more such references, some of them far more explicit, but it would probably be easier for you to search the doc yourself.
PS: I missed out the obvious one - in the Index:
Section 3: Strengthening the Role of Major Groups
...
27 Strengthening the role of non-governmental organizations: Partners for sustainable development
That puts QUANGOs right up there as a layer of government.
That's why Cam has been silent on the matter.
F, thank for extra input. I did track it down and skim read it and, for the benefit of those who don't have the time, it just goes on in the above vein for page after page after page. After page.
So, as I've always said, it's not just a question of getting out of the EU, we might as well turn our backs on the UN as well (and NATO, G7, IMF, World Bank etc).
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