Keep Britain Tidy Group (Hansard, 29 February 1972)

§ Mr. Peter Walker

The Government make an annual grant to the Keep Britain Tidy Group. This is calculated on the basis of £1 for each £1 contributed from other sources, up to a maximum which was increased from £15,000 to £20,000 for the current financial year. I have decided to raise very substantially the level of Government assistance, and in future Government assistance will be 10 times the present record level. Grant will be paid on a pound for pound basis up to a maximum of £130,000 for 1972–73 and £200,000 for each of the years 1973–74 and 1974–75.

The group has deployed its limited resources to excellent effect mainly in supporting local anti-litter activities, but I have agreed with the group that this work should be greatly expanded, and should be supported by a national publicity campaign.

Industry has already shown a very generous response to this cause and I know that it is as eager as I am to increase its activities in this sphere and I am told that already it has offered very substantially to increase its contributions to the group.

The group will now be able to expand and diversify its activities, particularly by establishing regional offices throughout the country. There is I am sure a massive volume of voluntary help to be harnessed and put to work—at last there will be a nation-wide organisation to see that this is done.

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The group will carry out an intensive national advertising campaign using the media of Press and television.

Influencing the child is an important aspect of the war against litter; a much wider educational programme will therefore be launched.

The group is a voluntary organisation bringing together amenity interests, local authorities, industry, Government Departments and a wide range of other bodies. With the substantially increased resources it will be able to make real progress in bringing home to people their responsibilities not to spoil our towns and countryside with litter.