UK Government cut ECF Grant
IM Malcolm Pein – Thursday 4th November 2010
There are to be huge cutbacks in spending the the UK. The English Chess Federation is to lose its entire grant, a pathetically small one in the first place, but a quarter of the ECF’s budget. Malcolm Pein reports.
The English Chess Federation will no longer receive any government support. Following th e Public Spending Review, the ECF received a letter from Jonathan Hughes, Head of Sport at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport which confirmed that the DCMS grant to the English Chess Federation will cease from 31st March 2011.
The letter also emphasised that the cuts were designed to protect Olympic sports. Government support for chess has been pitiful ove r the years and the grant was only £45,000, but it will still create problems for the ECF which has a very small annual budget of below £ 200,000.
Source: TWIC
The USA exported significant amounts of toxic financial waste to the UK. This is part of the price.
I would support the Susan Polgar Chess Foundation if it contributed to the ECF’s financial shortfall.