Government to axe agencies to create single green ‘super’ body

The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) announced today that it is to create  “a one-stop-shop” on resource efficiency for businesses, organisations and households that will mean organisations such as Envirowise and NISP (National Industrial Symbiosis Programme) will be rolled into WRAP, which is to run the new ‘super’ agency.

A decision to slim down the number of Government-funded organisations working on resource efficiency was expected following a review launched by Defra last February to look into ways to deliver a more coherent, simplified service for businesses and the community. It is also in line with the Government’s Business Support Simplification Programme, announced in the 2006 Budget to reduce the number of publicly funded business support schemes from Government from over 3,000 to less than 100 by 2010.

The six organisations that will be folded into WRAP by next year, are NISP, Envirowise, The Centre for Remanufacturing and Reuse, Construction Resources and Waste Platform, Action Sustainability and the Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) centre for local authorities.

Making the announcement, Secretary of State for the Environment Hilary Benn said the move would deliver a speedier and less confusing service to customers. “All these organisations have done a great job in helping businesses and households to use resources more efficiently.  But we know that some customers were confused by the myriad of services and bodies, so that is why we are making these changes," he said.

However, it is not clear how the changes will affect the level of service being provided to businesses and other organisations. Last year, a number of the agencies being folded into WRAP saw their budgets cut as Defra has sought to plug a £1 billion hole in its budget because of recent floods, animal health scares and other problems.

WRAP ceo Liz Goodwin welcomed the move, saying: “We believe it will help bring clarity for those seeking advice and support on resource efficiency – many of whom have already said they would prefer to deal with one organisation.”

Over the next year, WRAP said it would work with Defra to work out how to deliver the new advisory and support service “using the mix of skills and resources from all the organisations".

It is not yet clear what level of job losses or further cuts the reorganisation will lead to, but Goodwin said it would provide "an opportunity for economies of scale as we will now share services and support over a wider range of activities than WRAP or any other organisation has been able to achieve to date.”