A brief hint of understanding emerged in a meeting between the Licence Review Commission and the National Bargee Travellers Association — but this was quickly dashed by a follow-up report released by the Commission; a report that misrepresents survey data in support of Canal & River Trust’s discriminatory agenda.

Canal & River Trust’s (CRT) Future of Boat Licencing Review, led by a CRT appointed Commission, is now fully under way, and the Commission’s recommendations are due in November.

In a recent meeting with the National Bargee Travellers Association, the Commission admitted that CRT’s premise for the review only reflects a CRT-viewpoint, and requires fact-checking. They also noted CRT’s own data shows a decline in overall boat numbers – casting doubt on CRT’s claims of congestion and network strain. The additional context of CRT’s empty chargeable moorings, and CRT’s ongoing persecution of itinerant boaters was also discussed. The Commission agreed these factors would all need to be checked, as they do provide a different narrative to the one provided by CRT.

The NBTA urged the Commission to put aside CRT’s biased premise for the review, in favour of a neutral starting point. However, the Commission declined, only offering assurance that all perspectives would be “considered”.

The NBTA also asked for an itinerant boater representative within review discussions. The Commission expressed interest—but made no promises. This is despite the fact that the review is clearly focused on licensing for itinerant boaters.

This refusal to challenge CRT’s narrative or formally include those most affected – itinerant boaters – raises concerns. The Commission offered lip-service to the notion of a truly fair and neutral review – but without any actual change to a fundamentally hostile review premise and structure. 

Weeks later, the Commission released a survey report so skewed it contradicts its own data, reinforcing CRT’s anti-itinerant stance. This biased report clearly promotes CRT’s agenda to change licensing legislation, yet the actual survey data tells a very different story (see more details below). 

With Campbell Robb, former Shelter CEO, announced to take over as CRT’s Chief Executive, some in the boating community have hoped that this signals a more empathetic direction. If Campbell Robb really does want to make a positive change, this example of institutional bias clearly shows he has a lot of work to do.