Scottish Canals (Scottish Gaelic:Canàlan na h-Alba) is theScottish Government body responsible for managing the country's inland waterways. Formerly a division ofBritish Waterways, it became a stand-alone corporation on 2 July 2012, then anexecutive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government in April 2020.
| (Scottish Gaelic:Canàlan na h-Alba) | |
 Scottish Canals logo | |
| Predecessor | British Waterways |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2 July 2012 (2012-07-02) |
| Type | executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government |
| Headquarters | Glasgow, Scotland, UK |
Region served | Scotland |
Chairman of Board | Maureen Campbell[1] |
Chief Executive | John Paterson[2] |
| Budget | £19.2m[3] |
| Staff | 284[3] |
| Website | www |
Formerly called | British Waterways (Scotland) |
Based inGlasgow, Scottish Canals cares for 137 miles (220 km) of waterway network in total, including 17 reservoirs and the navigation rights to four lochs, includingLoch Ness. The body is responsible for five canals.[4]
- Caledonian – 60 miles (97 km)
- Crinan – 9 miles (14 km)
- Forth and Clyde – 35 miles (56 km)
- Monkland (no longer operational, although two watered sections remain) – 2 miles (3.2 km)
- Union Canal – 31 miles (50 km)
History
editBritish Waterways was founded in 1962 under theTransport Act, taking over statutory responsibility for operating and maintaining waterways across Great Britain.
In 2010 theUK Government determined that responsibility for inland waterways inEngland andWales should pass to a newcharitable trust, theCanal & River Trust. However, theScottish Government decided that canals in Scotland would remain publicly owned and British Waterways would continue to operate in Scotland as astatutory corporation trading as Scottish Canals.[5] This public body became wholly accountable to Scottish Ministers with effect from 2 July 2012.[1] Legally, the organisation is still referred to as the British Waterways Board, but in all other aspects it uses the brand Scottish Canals.[6] In 2017, with a workforce of around 250 people, it was accredited as aScottish Living Wage employer.[7]
In April 2020, Scottish Canals changed from operating as a public corporation to a non-departmental public body.[8] This change in designation was made byHM Treasury the previous because it did not generate half its revenues externally.[9]
References
edit- ^ab"Meet the Board".www.scottishcanals.co.uk. Scottish Canals. Retrieved11 April 2023.
- ^"Meet the Management Team".Scottish Canals. Retrieved21 May 2024.
- ^ab"Annual Report & Accounts 2019/2020"(PDF). Scottish Canals. 4 September 2020. Retrieved1 December 2021.
- ^"Fast Facts!". Scottish Canals. Retrieved1 December 2021.
- ^"Name change for body running Scottish canal network".BBC News. 3 July 2012. Retrieved11 April 2023.
- ^"Our Structure and Governance". Scottish Canals. Retrieved1 December 2021.
- ^Spowart, Nan (21 November 2017)."Living wage benefits flow both ways for Scottish Canals and its workforce".The National. Scotland. Retrieved11 April 2023.
- ^Young, Gregor (9 February 2022)."Auditors find 'flaws' in Scottish Canals public body".The National. Scotland. Retrieved11 April 2023.
- ^Dalton, Alastair (31 July 2022)."Dereliction threat to Scotland's canals from financial restrictions hampering regeneration".Scotland on Sunday. Retrieved11 April 2023.
External links
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