7 January 2009
UK Scouts Have to Pay for Rain
Posted by admin under: International .
When my son went over to the international centennial Jamboree two summers ago one of the things that was drilled into his head was that England has much less potable water compared to the United States of America. Consequently, our obsessive need to bathe constantly, lush lawns in the desert, and free drink refills were looked at askance. So, you’d think that having rainwater run off buildings and parking lots to be collected by the local water authority would be a welcome thing, but not so says Martin Beckford at the Telegraph.
Scout groups will be forced to charge children higher fees or cut their activities after water companies imposed new bills totalling an estimated £1.5 million a year.
…
Some troops have been told they must pay £600 extra to cope with the rainwater that lands on their huts and car parks, then pours into drains.
…
The Scout Association has calculated that the 4,500 Scout group buildings in England face an average rise of £400 a year in their water bills, bringing the total cost to an estimated £1.5m.
Despite the complaints of thousands of people and pleas for leniency, the water firms insist the new charges make the system fairer for other customers. They are being backed by Ofwat, the industry regulator, which allowed them to end the exemption given to community groups in 2003.
You give breaks to groups you want to have more of and deny them to those you don’t want to support as much. Given that freshwater is something that England seems to have more of a need for (weird in a country that has a reputation for raining all the time), charging Scouts for the rain doesn’t indicate support for one of the greatest kids organizations in its home country.
- Another British Exchange
- No More Queen for Scottish Muslim Scouts
- Truth and Consequences for Urine Scouts
- Another left-wing attack on Boy Scouts
- An Excuse to Move to the Bahamas
