What do seasonal bee inspectors do in the winter?

mbc said:

The other side of the coin is that the eu monies for beekeeping might reach beekeepers directly without being siphoned off to the nbu

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This might be a naïve question, but why are so many people down on the NBU? Is it the same mentality that assumes that every who works for "the council" is an overpaid, timewasting idiot?

mbc said:

The other side of the coin is that the eu monies for beekeeping might reach beekeepers directly without being siphoned off to the nbu

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No it won't - that is a naiive assumption made by someone on here ages ago. The EU funding has never been intended to go direct to the beekeeper And any 'information' that it is happenning in other member states is just the usual Daily snail pot stirring misinformation.

bontbee said:

This might be a naïve question, but why are so many people down on the NBU? Is it the same mentality that assumes that every who works for "the council" is an overpaid, timewasting idiot?

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Don't get me wrong, the nbu is a smashing asset to British beekeepers, but it's funding should come without depriving British beekeepers of the eu funding pot their European neighbours have access to.

jenkinsbrynmair said:

No it won't - that is a naiive assumption made by someone on here ages ago. The EU funding has never been intended to go direct to the beekeeper And any 'information' that it is happenning in other member states is just the usual Daily snail pot stirring misinformation.

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Wrong, there is money sequested for inspecting for disease that should be available to beekeepers to apply for direct grants for, amongst other things from the top of my head, transhumance( eu Google translate for equipment for moving hives). Other member states are challenging this misappropriation, if memory serves me correctly there was a bit about it in a past bfa bulletin.

How are we, as beekeepers in the UK, deprived? According to the EU's figures, UK has an allocation for the next three years for "apiculture" along with the other 27 member states. Why do you say that money is siphoned off to NBU? How are beekeepers in other states funded "directly"? Ta, (and 'scuse my iggerance)

bontbee said:

How are we, as beekeepers in the UK, deprived? According to the EU's figures, UK has an allocation for the next three years for "apiculture" along with the other 27 member states. Why do you say that money is siphoned off to NBU? How are beekeepers in other states funded "directly"? Ta, (and 'scuse my iggerance)

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The UK allocation goes direct into the nbu pot to pay for the inspections programme.
Beekeepers in other countries in the eu can get grants for new trucks etc. and their statutory inspection services are correctly funded from elsewhere than robbing their beekeepers of this pot.

Ahh, so another example of our Government(s) not allocating funds appropriately....

bontbee said:

Ahh, so another example of our Government(s) not allocating funds appropriately....

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Or maybe other governments?
I obtained my facts from one of the senior auditors for the European funding office (employed by Brussels not British or Welsh government) and the money we get is not meant to go direct to the beekeeper but to organisations such as the NBU

Aye, as you wish, the government is blameless in this and diverting the allocation away from those dirty scrounging(pot smoking?) beekeepers and using it to subsidise a pre existing project(statutory inspections) to save a few quid is the right thing to do, after all, those Arabs still need a dam good bombing and the money saved helps pay for a tiny fraction of one amongst thousands of much needed bombs. God save the queen

bontbee said:

Ahh, so another example of our Government(s) not allocating funds appropriately....

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jenkinsbrynmair said:

Or maybe other governments?
I obtained my facts from one of the senior auditors for the European funding office (employed by Brussels not British or Welsh government) and the money we get is not meant to go direct to the beekeeper but to organisations such as the NBU

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That wasn't an accusation, it was an observation- whereever whichever Govt spends money, in someone's view it will be inappropriate spending! How long has this EU funding been available? If the will were there, couldn't the EU money have been used to free up other, previously committed money? Or has the NBU always been funded by EU monies. It's only a question of juggling the balls in the right way...

What do seasonal bee inspectors do in the winter?[/quote]

Brood.

bontbee said:

That wasn't an accusation, it was an observation- whereever whichever Govt spends money, in someone's view it will be inappropriate spending! How long has this EU funding been available? If the will were there, couldn't the EU money have been used to free up other, previously committed money? Or has the NBU always been funded by EU monies. It's only a question of juggling the balls in the right way...

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There's always been EU funding for the NBu (separate chunk from Wales to England). If it doesn't go to the NBU it will go back to Brussels - almost happened one year as the incumbent WAG bee officer wasn't err, shall we say keeping her eye on the ball. I didn't take it as an accusation, just correcting it.
Only know becuse I'm on occasional speaking terms with the former bee officer who was tasked with sorting the mess out, she is now an auditor for the european funding office more to do with programme closure than bees but takes an active interest in the bee side still - she'd have to really, living with a beekeeper. So if there was a chance of some EC money for individual beekeepers she'd make sure i know about it.

Plus you wouldnt get any tea if you disagreed lol

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=21471&page=2

An old thread from a productive period in the life of the bkf


edit: post #62