The Authority’s work is split into 17 ‘programmes’ that cover all the different services we provide – from dealing with planning applications to looking after toilets and car parks.
Assessing our programmes
We assess each programme by asking a standard set of questions including:
- to what extent does the programme contribute to National Park purposes?
- to what extent does it contribute to the socio-economic well-being of local communities?
- to what extent is it supported by local communities and the general public?
Allocating categories
Based on this assessment, programmes are then allocated to one of three categories:
- programmes where we will strive for an excellent level of service;
- programmes where we will seek to maintain a reasonable level of service;
- programmes where progress will be limited and/or dependent on securing funding from other sources.
Prioritising under financial pressure
Like all National Park Authorities, we are under pressure to deliver a range of services from within a budget that has fallen by nearly 50% in real terms since 2010.
In preparing our budgets, we seek to:
- retain front-line services wherever possible, and seek external funding to help deliver them;
- maintain a high level of quality in key services (and, if we can’t afford that, then to stop providing that service all together);
- focus on our statutory purposes but in a way that, wherever possible, supports local communities and the local economy.